Italy's Banco Popolare has hired Morgan Stanley to set up a fund, worth some EUR 800 mln, that groups together the bank's real estate assets that were spun off in December, Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Friday.
Italy's Banco Popolare has hired Morgan Stanley to set up a fund, worth some EUR 800 mln, that groups together the bank's real estate assets that were spun off in December, Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Friday.
According to the daily, the real estate fund would also include some strategic properties, like bank branches that would be rented with long-term contracts back to the bank. The fund would be underwritten by Italian and foreign institutional investors.
In December Banco Popolare transferred part of its property business, including EUR 320 mln of real estate properties, to its Immobiliare BPV real estate unit. The subsidiary is to change its name to Immobiliare BP. Auditing firm KPMG has valued the business at EUR 720 mln. The bank said the transfer of the property assets was agreed by the management board on 18 December as part of a move aimed at 'increasing efficiency in the management of the assets, as well as maximising the bank's returns on its investments'.
