German open-ended fund manager Deka has entered into exclusive negotiations with Spain's Realia to acquire the flagship Diagonal 640 office building in Barcelona for around EUR 150 mln, according to market sources. The property, which is being marketed by CB Richard Ellis, was put on the market in early 2010 in a bid by the Spanish firm to refinance its debt load.
German open-ended fund manager Deka has entered into exclusive negotiations with Spain's Realia to acquire the flagship Diagonal 640 office building in Barcelona for around EUR 150 mln, according to market sources. The property, which is being marketed by CB Richard Ellis, was put on the market in early 2010 in a bid by the Spanish firm to refinance its debt load.
A number of German open-ended real estate funds including Deka, RREEF and Union Investment put forward bids in April to buy the property, which is located in Barcelona's central business district. Other bidders were a couple of Spanish family offices.
Developed in the 1990s by Prima Inmobiliaria, the property is mostly let to the international auditing firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers. It offers 28,500 m2 of office space and 417 parking spaces. The scheme - one of Barcelona's landmarks - was worth over EUR 200 mln at the peak of the market in 2007 and has lost nearly 30% of its value since then.
Sources say Realia, which is controlled by construction group FCC and Spanish lender Caja Madrid, is looking to complete the sale next month. A Deka spokesperson declined to comment on Tuesday.
