AXA and Norwegians buy Paris offices for EUR 290m

Norway's giant oil-fuelled pension fund and AXA Real Estate Investment Managers are jointly acquiring a portfolio of Paris offices for EUR 290 mln. The investment volume reflects a passing cap rate of 6%.

The joint venture of the EUR 380 bn Norwegian Government pension fund, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management, and the real estate arm of French insurer AXA has exchanged contracts to acquire the assets by the end of the year.

This is the second acquisition by the JV which was launched in August 2011 to target co-investment opportunities in the Paris office market. The first deal was the sale to the Norwegian pension fund of a 50% interest in seven assets from AXA France Insurance Companies' Paris office portfolio with a total value of EUR 1.4 bn.

The new acquisitions were negotiated off market and comprise three fully-let office properties. AXA Real Estate provides asset management services to all the properties held in the JV.

Pierre Vaquier, Chief Executive of AXA Real Estate, said: 'This latest acquisition for our joint venture with Norges Bank represents an excellent opportunity to secure the ownership of three prime, well located assets which benefit from a diverse base of high covenant tenants, delivering strong income for the investors.'