Cerberus closes Italy’s largest portfolio deal in 2 years

US private equity firm Cerberus has clinched the acquisition of an Italian portfolio in a government-let portfolio deal worth €230 mln, PropertyEU has learned.

The deal – which was tipped by PropertyEU last autumn - closed this week and is believed to be the largest real estate portfolio transaction in Italy in the past two years.

The transaction involves two army barracks in Bari and Rome used by the Guardia di Finanza as well as three other assets across the country.

The buildings were among the 21 properties offered for sale through CBRE by Fondi Immobili Pubblici (FIP), a government fund managed by Investire Immobiliare Sgr, part of Banca Finnat Euramerica.

In December, FIP executed the sale of an initial sub-portfolio of five office buildings to US private equity group Blackstone for around €160 mln.

The portfolio comprises two buildings in Milan and one each in Genoa, Turin and Como.

Kennedy Wilson
Similarly, US investor Kennedy Wilson is believed to be in negotiations to acquire another sub-portfolio worth between €250 and €300 mln. The deal, which is being negotiated off market, includes a dozen offices in northern Italy which were not included in the recent sales by FIP to Blackstone and Cerberus.

Launched in 2004, FIP was the first real estate fund to be created by the Italian government as part of a major privatisation effort and owned around 400 buildings across the country. The assets are home to public administration offices and are all leased with a master lease agreement to the Agenzia del Demonio, the country's public real estate agency, with a contract running to December 2022.

Earlier this month the fund also launched the sale of a new sub-package consisting of 10 assets which will be marketed by JLL on an asset-by-asset basis. The properties generate over €11 mln in annual rents and are located in Rome, Genoa, Trieste, Pavia and La Spezia.