Beni Stabili buys in northern Italy for EUR 115m

Italian office-focused REIT Beni Stabili has announced the acquisition of three office buildings located in Rozzano-Milanofiori, Varese and Milan, northern Italy for a total of EUR 90.5 mln.

The transactions include the Italian headquarters of French retail group Auchan which was acquired for EUR 63 mln, as well as the head office of the Italian pension fund Inps which represented an investment of EUR 21 mln.

In addition, Italy's largest listed property company said it has signed a preliminary agreement to buy a multi-tenant property at Via Pergolesi in Milan for a further EUR 25 mln. The seller was not disclosed. The acquisitions come shortly after Beni Stabili's purchase in mid-December of two shopping centres in Beinasco e Nerviano, for a total of EUR 104 mln. The operations represent an average yield of 6.4%, the company said.

In the course of the fourth quarter of 2010, Beni Stabili also divested properties worth a total of EUR 75 mln as part of its asset recycling strategy aimed at creating value by selling mature assets. The sales represented a yield of 5.2%.