Aviva Investors has reportedly emerged as the buyer of a portfolio of six office properties from Chinese group Anbang in a deal valued at €700 mln.
According to a news report by React News, the debt-laden Chinese group has agreed a sale of the office buildings which it bought back in 2016 from Blackstone for €500 mln. The sale is said to reflect a net initial yield of 4.9%.
The portfolio is believed to include the Cross Towers in Amsterdam; Weenatoren and 200 Weena in Rotterdam; and Forum, Sirius and Orion in The Hague. The properties, with a seven-year WAULT, were bought by Anbang four years ago through Vivat, a Dutch insurer the group took over in 2015.
Agent CBRE, advisor to Anbag on the sale, declined to comment. Aviva Investors did not respond to an email request for comment.
The sale is part of a major property sell-off by the Chinese group aimed at strengthening its balance sheet. Anbang, which is also the owner of the Doubletree by Hilton in central Amsterdam which it bought in 2017 for about €350 mln, is seeking the sale of as much as $10 bn in property sales in an effort to raise liquidity.
Aviva Investors recently said that it has identified the Netherlands as a major growth market for the group. In December, it bought Keizersgracht 119–121, an office building in the centre of Amsterdam for €25 mln, on behalf of one of its mandates.
