US private investor Cerberus Capital Management (Cerberus) has completed the acquisition of a EUR 1 bn real estate portfolio consisting of 45 Metro Cash & Carry properties in Germany from the three major shareholders of Metro, Franz Haniel & Cie, Otto Beisheim and the Schmidt-Ruthenbeck family. The deal, which was tipped by PropertyEU early last month, is one of the largest property transactions in the country since 2007.
US private investor Cerberus Capital Management (Cerberus) has completed the acquisition of a EUR 1 bn real estate portfolio consisting of 45 Metro Cash & Carry properties in Germany from the three major shareholders of Metro, Franz Haniel & Cie, Otto Beisheim and the Schmidt-Ruthenbeck family. The deal, which was tipped by PropertyEU early last month, is one of the largest property transactions in the country since 2007.
The portfolio includes 42 Metro Cash & Carry wholesale-retail properties and three other properties offering 900,000 m2 of rentable space in major urban centers throughout Germany.
Cerberus has secured approximately EUR 500 mln in financing for the Metro properties from a consortium of lenders coordinated by Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking and Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, and also including ING, Natixis, pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank and Banco Santander.
The deal is Cerberus' third significant property transaction in Europe in the past five months. In November 2010, Cerberus acquired 97 bank branches of Spanish bank Caja Madrid. And in March, it acquired and restructured the senior debt of Maxim Business Park in Glasgow, Scotland.
Cerberus has been an active investor in German real estate since 2003. The Metro Cash & Carry portfolio adds to Cerberus' existing 100 German high-street retail assets.
'European real estate is a key focus for Cerberus, and we believe that there are significant opportunities in this market,' said Lee Millstein, senior managing director at Cerberus. 'Cerberus is pleased to add this investment to its high-quality portfolio of German properties. Metro is one of the world's pre-eminent retailers, and German retail is an especially attractive sector within the European property markets. These assets are excellent retail properties in strong locations. We are confident that the real estate investment agreement will benefit all parties and support Metro’s long-term objectives.'
Kuna & Co. KG. served as Cerberus' financial advisor on the transaction. Ashurst and Schulte Roth & Zabel provided legal counsel to Cerberus. Advisors to the sellers were PwC as M&A lead advisor and Orrick Hölters Elsing as legal advisors. Gleiss Lutz served as legal advisors to the consortium of lenders.
