Chayton, CV Starr acquire Hungarian land owner for EUR 155m

Chayton Capital's Sava Fund and CV Starr have bought a 74% stake in Skoglund Holding, a Hungarian company that owns a 10 million m² portfolio of residential and commercial development property in and around Budapest for EUR 155 mln.

Skoglund's strategy will change from holding and re-zoning land to a pro-active development business 'with opportunities for joint-venture equity partnerships,' Chayton Capital said. John Verpeleti is leaving AXA REIM where he was head of Central Europe, to join Skoglund as CEO in January 2009.

Neil Crowder of Chayton Capital comments: 'This is a substantial deal for Chayton Sava and offers a major opportunity for our investors. Chayton Capital will manage the portfolio on behalf of CV Starr and the Sava Fund, and will have responsibility for the operation and strategy of Skoglund. Part of that strategy will include looking for possible transactions on this great portfolio. Skoglund will retain its own staff and run as an independent company under the leadership of John Verpeleti.'

Skoglund in its current format was created by Bankar through the merger in 1998 of Skoglund and Sasad, the ex-state-owned agricultural/horticultural co-operative. Between 1998 and 2008 the company sold off parcels of land and re-zoned others from agricultural land to land for development.

Following re-designation as land for development, Skoglund either sold it or kept it. The company now has a portfolio of around 10 million square meters of prime development land in a still developing market.

Chayton Capital creates vehicles for institutional and high net worth investors to earn superior returns through opportunistic real estate investments. Sava, the firm's second fund, targets Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. CV Starr is a global investment firm headed by Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg, the former head of insurer AIG.