AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets has completed the acquisition of the headquarters of newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore and PricewaterhouseCoopers at Milan's Via Monterosa 91 in an off-market deal valued at €220 mln, or a yield of just over 6%.
The vendor is MPO, an Italian real estate vehicle fully owned by funds managed by Partners Group and Torre SGR, which is controlled by Fortress Investment Group and Unicredit.
The asset was purchased on behalf of AXA Selectiv’ Immo and AXA CoRE Europe funds, both managed by AXA REIM SGP.
In 2010, Torre Sgr put the 86,000 m2 complex on the market for a price of around €200 mln but the asset failed to attract enough interest. At the time it was owned by the Unicredit Immobiliare Uno investment vehicle in liquidation.
Partners Group took over the asset in February 2015 together with the Pirelli headquarters at Viale Sarca 222 for a combined price of €233 mln. The Swiss asset manager is believed to have paid €174 mln for the complex at the time, or a yield of 7.8%.
The latest trading price represents a 26% premium to the price the Swiss asset manager paid for the asset slightly over a year ago, meaning Partners Group is booking a €46 mln profit from the sale.
Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano in 2004, the office scheme is composed of five office blocks arranged across three buildings and provides a total gross area of 86,000 m2 in Fiera, the old trade quarter of Milan. It provides roughly €13.6 mln of rents a year.
The transaction is in line with both AXA CoRE Europe and AXA Selectiv’ Immo’s objective to acquire core assets in key European cities, providing investors with long-term stable income, the buyer said in a statement.
'Transactions of such size are rare in Milan and is illustrative of our confidence in both the wider Italian market and this specific landmark asset,' commented Alessio Lucentini, local head of asset management & transactions in Italy at AXA IM - Real Assets.
JLL advised the buyer.
