AltaFund, an office property investment fund operated by France's Altarea Cogedim, has joined forces with Goldman Sachs to acquire Pascal towers, an office complex spanning 63,500 m2 at La Défense business district of Paris.

AltaFund, an office property investment fund operated by France's Altarea Cogedim, has joined forces with Goldman Sachs to acquire Pascal towers, an office complex spanning 63,500 m2 at La Défense business district of Paris.

The property is believed to have been sold by Area Property Partners, a New York-based private equity firm formerly known as Apollo Real Estate Advisors. Financial details were not disclosed.

Located in the immediate vicinity of the Grande Arche of La Défense and the 4Temps shopping centre in Puteaux, the Pascal towers were built 30 years ago as IBM Europe's headquarters.

The complex comprises two connected towers of 20 and 29 storeys and is currently fully occupied by the Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development and Energy (MESDE) under leases running to end-2016.

After MESDE vacates, the 50-50 partners plan to refurbish the scheme in order to bring it up to the high standards large office users require. The renovation project will be managed by Altarea Cogedim Entreprise, with delivery expected in 2019.

Stéphane Theuriau, co-manager and CEO in charge of office property for the Altarea Cogedim Group states, "This transaction, the fifth since AltaFund's inception, again illustrates the group's desire to position itself on large-scale redevelopments of iconic buildings in prime locations, to provide users differentiating leasing solutions adapted to their needs.'

AltaFund and Goldman Sachs chose Gide and Dentons as legal advisors, Allez & Associés for the notarial aspects of the transaction, Arsène Taxand and Clifford Chance as tax advisors and PricewaterhouseCoopers for accounting and financial due diligence. Goldman Sachs was also advised by Générale Continentale Investissements (GCI).

The seller's advisors were de Pardieu Brocas Mafféi on the legal and tax side, Wargny Katz Notaires on the notary side and Strategies & Corp, as part of a co-exclusive sale mandate with Cushman & Wakefield.