French asset manager Amundi and Finnish insurer Ilmarinen have joined forces on a 50-50 basis to acquire a major office complex in Frankfurt from JP Morgan Asset Management.
French asset manager Amundi and Finnish insurer Ilmarinen have joined forces on a 50-50 basis to acquire a major office complex in Frankfurt from JP Morgan Asset Management.
The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
The office property at Theodor Heuss Allee 50 is located on the west side of Frankfurt city centre and provides 32,000 m2 of total lettable area. The nine-storey building, completed in 2004, is leased in its entirety to Commerzbank, which renewed the rental Agreement in the summer of 2015.
'Commerzbank is the second largest bank in Germany. A long-term rental agreement with a player of this standing guarantees stable and predictable rental income far into the future. In addition, the building is modern and in excellent technical condition,' commented Ilmarinen's portfolio manager Mikko Antila.
The Finnish insurer entered the German real estate market in late 2015 with the acquisition of an office and hotel property in the German capital. The acquisitions are part of the company's strategy to diversify the real estate portfolio beyond Finland’s borders.
L’Etoile Properties advised on the deal and will also be responsible for managing the property.
BNP Paribas Real Estate and CBRE advised the vendor. Law firm Hengeler Mueller acted for the vendor while the buyer was advised by Clifford Chance.
Amundi Real Estate has also recently been expanding beyond the French borders. In 2015 the group achieved a total transactional volume of €3.6 bn, double compared to the level of 2014. Acquisitions represented €3.4 bn of that figure.
While over €2.4 bn was invested in France, almost 30% of acquisitions (in volume) were completed in Europe, notably in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. More than 84% of these transactions were in corporate real estate assets (with 79% office property, 18% shops and shopping centres and 3% hotels).
Amundi's real estate assets under management increased by 39% to €12.9 bn at end-December 2015.
