Newly created Merlin Properties expects to become the largest listed Spanish REIT, known as SOCIMI, by market capitalisation following its upcoming IPO.
Newly created Merlin Properties expects to become the largest listed Spanish REIT, known as SOCIMI, by market capitalisation following its upcoming IPO.
The company said it intends to use part of the proceeds from the IPO to acquire a 'fully leased, high-quality Spanish real estate portfolio'. The remainder will be used to finance its expansion through the acquisition of commercial property in the Iberian region, with a focus on prime assets in Spain's main cities and, to a lesser extent, in Portugal.
Merlin's management team will consist of senior professionals with extensive real estate experience in Iberia and internationally. It is expected to include all the top figures from Magic Real Estate, the independent Spanish asset and investment manager which, at end-December 2013, had €2.8 bn of assets under management. These include founding partners Ismael Clemente and Miguel Ollero. The team would also include David Brush, former head of RREEF and Brookfield Asset Management in Europe as chief investment officer.
Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) will be acting as sole global coordinator and joint bookrunner along with Deutsche Bank and UBS.
Read more about Merlin Properties in May 2014 edition of PropertyEU Magazine