Brookfield inks €1.4b Potsdamer Platz deal in Berlin

US asset management giant Brookfield Property Partners has agreed the acquisition of the Potsdamer Platz portfolio in Berlin from Savills Fund Management (formerly SEB Asset Management).

Financial details were not disclosed. However, the deal is understood to amount to over €1.4 bn.

SEB Asset Management, which was taken over in March by Savills FM, hired Eastdil Secured earlier this year to market its flagship Potsdamer Platz holdings in Berlin for a price of around €1.5 bn.

The holdings, which are owned by SEB's Immoinvest open-ended fund in liquidation, involve 18 buildings including the Mandala Hotel, a Cinemaxx cinema, the Stage Theater and the Arkaden mall, as well as 2,000 parking spaces.

Potsdamer Platz, designed by architects including Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, opened in 1998 and has over 267,000 m2 of restaurants, offices, apartments and shops. Potsdamer Platz 1, designed by Berlin-based architect Hans Kollhoff, is one of the quarter's landmarks with a height of 103 metres.

The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

Daimler exit in 2012
SEB AM bought the portfolio back in 2008 from German car maker Daimler for €1.5 bn. Daimler vacated part of the asset in late 2012 and the portfolio is 20% vacant at present. Most vacancies are in the office building at Eichenhornstr. 3, which is currently being repositioned.

SEB AM tried to sell a 50% stake in 2011 to meet withdrawal requests from ImmoInvest shareholders but the assets failed to raise enough interest. In 2013, the asset manager sold the Hyatt hotel out of the Potsdamer Platz portfolio to Qatar’s Al Rayyan Tourism and Investment for over €100 mln.

'We are delighted that such a high-profile investor as Brookfield has agreed to acquire the real estate portfolio. This emphasises the international significance of Potsdamer Platz as a sought-after business centre and a superlative and vibrant part of Berlin,' said Axel Kraus, managing director of Savills Fund Management.

Nils Hübener, head of Investment at Savills Fund Management, added: 'The sale of such a highly diversified property portfolio as Potsdamer Platz Quarter is further proof of our ability to execute large, highly complex portfolio transactions.'