Deutsche Annington, Germany's largest residential real estate firm, is buying 11,500 housing units from Stuttgart-based Dewag and 30,000 from Vitus Group for a total sum of around €2.4 bn.
Deutsche Annington, Germany's largest residential real estate firm, is buying 11,500 housing units from Stuttgart-based Dewag and 30,000 from Vitus Group for a total sum of around €2.4 bn.
The deals see Deutsche Annington, which is based in Bochum, western Germany, increase its presence in the north of the country, with 9,500 of the units in Bremen and 9,250 in Kiel. The portfolio has an average vacancy rate of below 4% and covers an area of more than 2.6 million m2.
The Vitus Group properties will cost around €1.5 bn, including repayment of third-party debt, and is due to complete in the fourth quarter of 2014. Vitus Group is currently owned by a group of funds managed by Round Hill Capital, Blackstone, Deutsche Bank and Aviva.
'The envisaged integration of Vitus into the Deutsche Annington group is in line with our strategy to exit the portfolio, following a period of intense progress across the portfolio,' said Round Hill's managing director Michael Bickford. 'Since acquiring Vitus in 2007, we significantly improved the quality of the underlying assets.'
The Dewag properties will cost a little under €1 bn, including liabilities, and that deal is due to complete in the second quarter of this year.