Italian real estate investment trust IGD Siiq has agreed to acquire a stake in insurance group UnipolSai's asset management arm and to launch a jointly owned unit specialising in the creation of commercial real estate funds.

Italian real estate investment trust IGD Siiq has agreed to acquire a stake in insurance group UnipolSai's asset management arm and to launch a jointly owned unit specialising in the creation of commercial real estate funds.

Bologna-based IGD Siiq said it is buying a 20% stake in UnipolSai Investimenti Sgr, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UnipolSai which manages core real estate funds for institutional investors with assets under management of €500 mln.

As part of the agreement, IGD and UnipolSai Investimenti will work together to create a new fund platform and to initiate funds focussed on the retail segment.

'This transaction will make it possible for IGD to take advantage of the potential of commercial real estate, a segment in which international institutional investors have begun to show renewed interest,' the real estate investment trust said in a statement.