Private equity group ActivumSG Capital Management will float unit Instone Real Estate on the Frankfurt stock exchange after taking full control of the German residential development arm in October last year.
Instone, the owner of a development portfolio with an end value of €3.4 bn, said that the listing will allow it to further accelerate its growth as it has its eye on additional land acquisition opportunities with potential for a further €13 bn worth of projects.
Kruno Crepulja, CEO of Instone, said: 'Thanks to our unique development pipeline and proven continuous sourcing capabilities, we are well positioned to further benefit from the strong potential of the attractive German residential property market. The proceeds from the capital increase will expand our flexibility to accelerate our growth.'
Under the widely expected move, Instone will both list existing shares as well as new ones to be issued on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard). The placement will consist of newly issued shares from a capital increase with total gross proceeds of €150 mln as well as of existing shares from the holdings of owner, ActivumSG Capital Management, for an amount yet to be determined.
Instone expects to place around two thirds of the proceeds from the placement of new shares for the acquisition and development of new residential projects. The remaining third will be used to fully repay an existing shareholder loan.
Instone's portfolio currently consists of 48 projects across Germany valued at €868 mln. The company annually plans, builds and markets an average of 1,000 residential units for owner-occupiers, for private buy-to-let and for institutional investors, and has a workforce of 236 full-time employees across seven branches in Germany.
Private equity group ActivumSG Capital Management became the sole owner of Instone Real Estate in late 2017 with the acquisition of Instone founder and shareholder Steffen Göpel's stake in the German residential developer.
ActivumSG, which was founded by former Cerberus director Saul Goldstein, took full control after buying a majority stake in the company in December 2015. At the time, the company was known as GRK Holding and was later merged with developer Formart under the brand of Instone Real Estate Group.
