Italian fund manager Coima has purchased two land plots in Milan's Porta Nuova district with associated building rights from the municipality of Milan for €78.9 mln.
Acquired via public tender, Coima plans to develop two buildings on the sites by the end of 2022, investing around €270 mln in total. An international design competition is already under way to secure architects for the schemes.
The deal was finalised through a vehicle which is 60%-controlled by Coima Opportunity Fund II (COFII) and 40% held by a primary international institutional investor.
The fundraising for COFII was recently completed to the tune of over €650 mln including co-investments. It constitutes the largest discretionary fund dedicated to value added and development real estate projects in Italy with an investment capacity, including financial leverage, of over €1.5 bn.
One-third of the fund’s investment capacity has already been deployed in the acquisition of these two land plots and in the acquisition and refurbishment of the office complex in Via Bonnet (former Unilever).
At closing, Coima activated a three-year loan facility with UniCredit for a total amount of €80.6 mln, for the purchase of the sites and pre-development activities related mainly to the design and preparation for the construction phase.
Overall, also including the development projects in Via Bonnet (formerly Unilever headquarters) and Via Melchiorre Gioia 22 (formerly INPS office), Coima is launching urban regeneration projects in the Porta Nuova neighborhood entailing investments of €700 mln.
Coima was assisted on legal matters by Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners; Shearman & Sterling; Studio Legale Leone-Torrani e Associati and Maisto e Associati.
