Independent, private investment company Ardian Real Estate has made its debut in Italy with the acquisition of a portfolio of six office buildings from Cloe Fondo Uffici for an undisclosed sum.
On behalf of Ardian's AREEF 1 ITALY REIF, an alternative investment fund managed by Prelios SGR, the deal was signed with the reserved, closed-end Cloe fund, also managed by Prelios SGR.
'The sale of the portfolio of six buildings by Cloe Fondo Uffici, conducted in line with the asset management business of Prelios SGR over the life of the fund, aimed at increasing the value of the portfolio, will enable the achievement of overall yield objectives that are greater than the expected target,' commented Andrea Cornetti, general manager of Prelios SGR. 'Also, we are also very happy that the transaction was concluded through a fund managed by Prelios SGR, chosen by Ardian Real Estate as the management company for its first real estate investment in Italy.'
The portfolio, which comprises 91,000 m2 of space, comprises three properties in Milan (Corso Italia 13, Via Washington 70, Strada 4 - Palazzo A, Assago), two in Rome (Via Colombo 80, Via V. Veneto 89) and one small asset located in Bari.
'Italy continues to offer interesting investment opportunities and we aim to focus on Milan and Rome, which represent two of the most interesting cities for real estate investment in Europe. We see great value creation potential in the buildings we have acquired and we aim to transform them into core properties thanks to our local team,' said Rodolfo Petrosino, managing director of Ardian Real Estate.
AREEF 1 ITALY REIF, which is wholly owned by Ardian Real Estate European Fund SCS Ardian Real Estate, in turn managed by Ardian, focuses mainly on core plus-value added commercial properties with the aim of implementing asset management strategies to transform the real estate assets and seize development opportunities. Ardian has a total of $60 bn of assets managed or advised in Europe, North America, and Asia.
The acquisition was completed with a mortgage agreement concluded with international credit institutions Natixis, Milan Branch and Natixis Pfandbriefbank in Germany.
