Austrian residential property specialist Conwert has sold a commercial real estate portfolio to HanseMerkur Grundvermögen for €331 mln.
The package represents nearly 40% of Conwert's commercial real estate holdings, including 34 office and retail properties located in Austria and Germany.
'About a year ago, when I became CEO, we decided to place our full focus on residential properties. The sale of 34 office and commercial properties is now a major step towards creating a clearly focused residential property group with a core portfolio in strong metropolitan regions in Germany and Austria,' commented Conwert CEO Wolfgang Beck.
The properties cover some 200,000 m2 in total and the selling price is slightly above the book value.
HanseMerkur Grundfonds has acquired the portfolio for its special fund HMG Grundwerte Chancen, recently launched on the IntReal Real Estate service platform.
'With this portfolio acquisition, we are once again significantly increasing the real estate holdings of the HanseMerkur insurance group, adding a more opportunistic variant to the existing portfolio,' said Lutz Wiemer, deputy chairman of HanseMerkur Grundvermögen's board.
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Closing is expected at the end of 2016.
