DIFA acquires majority stake in Amsterdam's tallest office tower

German investment fund DIFA and Dutch real estate management company Dijkhuis have acquired a majority stake in the Rembrandt Tower, the tallest office building in Amsterdam. This is the first real estate project for DIFA in the Netherlands.

Both companies have expressed the intention to intensify their cooperation in the Dutch market. DIFA owns 230 properties in Europe, North and Central America and Asia and manages a total of EUR 13.2 bn in assets. Dijkhuis Vastgoed Management (DvM) is owned by the family Harro Dijkhuis and has been the co-owner of the Rembrandt Tower right from the start. DVM will increase its interest in the building with this take-over.

The Rembrandt Tower, the tallest office building in Amsterdam, was completed in 1995 and is named after the famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn. The tower is metres in 150 metres high and has 35 floors. Located in the financial business district 'De Omval', the tower is also known as 'Manhattan on the Amstel' as it is on the peninsula in the Amstel.

The tower was designed by ZZ+P Architects, in cooperation with Skidmore Owings Merrill (SOM). It accommodates approximately 20 tenants, mostly international companies.

The tower made international headlines in 2002 when a gunman took 18 office workers hostage to highlight his anger about widescreen televisions. The main target of his rage was Philips, but the Dutch electronics giant had moved out of the tower months before. The man killed himself after an eight-hour siege. The hostages were unharmed.