The Germans state of Hesse has halted attempts to arrange a sale and leaseback of the Leo III portfolio because the ongoing turbulence in the financial markets has left potential buyers unwilling or unable to meet the asking price of around EUR 400 mln. The state's finance minister, Karlheinz Weimar, decided to postpone the sale of 34 public buildings until 2008 to await calmer market conditions. 'Due to the crisis in the international financial markets conditions in Germany have also worsened for the financing of large real estate transactions in recent weeks', the minister said in a statement.

The Germans state of Hesse has halted attempts to arrange a sale and leaseback of the Leo III portfolio because the ongoing turbulence in the financial markets has left potential buyers unwilling or unable to meet the asking price of around EUR 400 mln. The state's finance minister, Karlheinz Weimar, decided to postpone the sale of 34 public buildings until 2008 to await calmer market conditions. 'Due to the crisis in the international financial markets conditions in Germany have also worsened for the financing of large real estate transactions in recent weeks', the minister said in a statement.

Weimar indicated that the market was enthusiastic about the Leo III portfolio when the sales process began in the spring of this year, and as late as the end of July there were a number of potential offers that surpassed the EUR 400 mln indication price. But in recent weeks the market deteriorated very quickly and now the pitches for the portfolio are 10-15% below the asking price. The minister stressed Hesse would not sell its real estate assets for less than they were worth.

Last November, Austrian real estate company CA Immo acquired the Leo II portfolio from Hesse for about EUR 770 mln in a sale-and-leaseback operation. The portfolio comprised 36 state-owned properties and 170 homes.

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