Austrian commercial real estate investor CA Immo has acquired a portfolio of 16 properties and seven apartment ownership shares in Vienna with an effective area of around 60,000 m[sup]2[/sup]. About 15,000 m[sup]2[/sup] of this has been completed, with the remainder under construction or at the project planning stage. The company claims there will be scope for adding value and boosting yields as much of the portfolio is designated as project development.
Austrian commercial real estate investor CA Immo has acquired a portfolio of 16 properties and seven apartment ownership shares in Vienna with an effective area of around 60,000 m2. About 15,000 m2 of this has been completed, with the remainder under construction or at the project planning stage. The company claims there will be scope for adding value and boosting yields as much of the portfolio is designated as project development.
While the purchase price comes to around EUR 75 mln, CA Immo say that a further EUR 66 mln will be needed to complete the development projects by early 2009, valuing the total investment at approximately EUR 141 mln. Although it contains office and retail space, the acquisition represents greater diversification for CA Immo, as about 70% of the portfolio is residential. The company says it will continue to focus on commercial real estate, however, and is currently completing other substantial hotel and office properties in Vienna.
Last week, CA Immo confirmed it intends to be the first Austrian property company to establish a real estate investment trust (REIT) in Germany. The new tax-efficient vehicle will have a spending power of up to EUR 2 bn, of which EUR 1 bn will be invested before the end of the year, CA Immo said in a statement. The company added it will place between 26% and 49% of the REIT with private and institutional investors. The initial public offering will take place between the final quarter of 2007 and the end of June 2008. CA Immo indicated that the flotation is expected to raise equity of about EUR 500 mln.