BNL Fondi Immobiliare said on Tuesday that it will go ahead with the disposal of EUR 260 mln of assets owned by its listed closed-end fund Portfolio Immobiliare Crescita fund after the Bank of Italy rejected a plea to extend the life of the fund due to the difficult market conditions.
BNL Fondi Immobiliare said on Tuesday that it will go ahead with the disposal of EUR 260 mln of assets owned by its listed closed-end fund Portfolio Immobiliare Crescita fund after the Bank of Italy rejected a plea to extend the life of the fund due to the difficult market conditions.
The Italian fund management unit of French bank BNP Paribas said it is retaining advisers AEW Italia, Jones Lang LaSalle and AtisReal to carry out the disposal programme for the fund.
'We confirm our commitment to do what is possible to limit the time necessary to liquidate the fund assets, while taking into account the interest of the shareholders,' BNL Fondi Immobiliare said.
BNL asked the Bank of Italy last November for an extension of up to three years for Portfolio Immobiliare Crescita. Launched in 2001, the property investment vehicle was initially due to close by the end of this year, but as a result of the credit crunch and the difficult market conditions, the company said it was unable to complete the disposal of the properties held by the fund on advantageous terms.
'Our decision was a result of the current global crisis and in particular the worsening of the credit crunch since September, which has spread to every market [in Europe] and has determined a drastic reduction in the number of transactions in the European real estate markets, including the Italian one,' the company said in a statement.
BNL is in talks with a number of interested parties, and said further information will be disclosed in due course.
