Abu Dhabi holds 13% of top German homeowner

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has revealed it owns 13.4% of Deutsche Annington, Germany's largest residential landlord.

Deutsche Annington said Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund was obliged by German law to make the disclosure as its holding of 32 million shares in the listed company has passed the 10% reporting threshold.

This follow the announcement by London-based private equity firm Terra Firma that it was transferring shares held by its Terra Firma Deutsche Annington Fund (TFDA) directly to the vehicle's shareholders.

Terra Firma formed Deutsche Annington in 2001 when it acquired 64,000 residential properties from the German Federal Railways. ADIA was one of the key investors in the €2.1 bn TFDA fund set up in 2006 to hold a majority stake (82.5%) in Deutsche Annington.

Following Deutsche Annington’s IPO in July 2013 on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and a subsequent sell-down, the fund’s holding was reduced to 67.3%. On 19 May 2014 Terra Firma said the fund investors would be given direct shareholdings pro rata to their interests in TFDA.