Hines, Catella take full control of Italian asset management unit

US developer-investor Hines and Manfredi Catella have strengthened their grip on the Italian asset management unit Hines Italia Sgr ahead of a planned expansion in the country.

Manfredi Catella, founder and CEO of Hines Italia Sgr, has received the green light from the Bank of Italy to double his share in Hines Italia SGR to 22.87%, from 10% previously.

In addition, Hines and Catella decided to exercise the option to repurchase Unipol Sai's 18% interest in the firm, which currently manages 11 funds with over €3 bn of assets under management.

As a result, the company will be 63.13% owned by Hines, 28.87% controlled by Manfredi Catella with colleague Francesco Micheli holding an 8% stake.

Cristiana Pislor, a lawyer and previously deputy chairman, was promoted to chairman of Hines Italia Sgr. Manfredi Catella is confirmed as chairman of the holding company, Hines Italia Capital, as well as Hines Italia Country head and CEO of Hines Italia Sgr.

'Increasing our share in the company is an important step on the road to consolidating our partnership in the Italian market,' said Manfredi Catella, CEO of Hines Italia Sgr.

Over the last three years, Hines Italia has raised €1 bn in equity from several investors, including sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding, and it currently has a warchest of €1.5 bn to spend in the Italian market.

The company plans to grow mainly organically, maintaining its focus on office and residential assets as well as on the repositioning of assets through two institutional funds, Hines Italia Value Added Fund and Hines Italia Core Opportunties fund.

In the logistics sector, Hines Italia Sgr recently entered into a partnership with Italian real estate developer Vailog. Together, they set up the Italian Logistic Fund, which has acquired Amazon's Italian distribution centres and is currently raising new funds.

In the shopping centre segment, the company has joined forces with retail specialist Pradera to take advantage of opportunities in the market.