US private equity firm Lone Star has cashed out of German property lender Düsseldorfer Hypothekenbank after acquiring the high-profile victim of the global financial crisis four years ago.
US private equity firm Lone Star has cashed out of German property lender Düsseldorfer Hypothekenbank after acquiring the high-profile victim of the global financial crisis four years ago.
The financial details of the sale were not disclosed.
Düsseldorfer Hypothekenbank had total assets of €10.9 bn at end-June 2014.
Lone Star's funds, LSF5 German Investments II and LSF5 Riverside, sold the bank to an international group of buyers centred around a fund managed by London-based investment firm Attestor Capital and Patrick Bettscheider. Bettscheider is the founder of MainFirst, a German-headquartered, owner-managed and independent European capital markets firm. He retired from MainFirst in February 2014.
The purchase agreement is subject to regulatory approval.
Düsseldorfer Hypothekenbank is a German Pfandbriefbank founded by German entrepreneur Wolfgang Schuppli in 1997. The bank focuses on domestic and international professional real estate investors active in Germany, the Netherlands and metropolitan areas in France and Spain.
The bank ran into difficulty following the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008 and its shares were subsequently acquired by the deposit protection scheme operated by the Federal Association of German Banks (BdB).
Lone Star's vehicles took over control in 2010. Since then the bank has worked to consolidate its reputation as a lender in the €10-50 mln range to single assets and portfolios in the residential, office, retail, hotel, logistics and parking segments. The bank also engages in syndicated loans with other lenders. The real estate activities are mainly funded via the issue of Mortgage Pfandbriefe (covered bonds).
London-based Attestor manages about $1.5 bn (€1.1 bn) for its investors.
'The new owners will continue the current business model and consequently provide the bank, its clients and its business partners with a long-term perspective in the commercial real estate financing business,' Düsseldorfer Hypothekenbank said when announcing the sale.