Orion Capital Managers is understood to be the preferred bidder for the historic headquarters of BNL in Rome’s via Veneto area.
According to well informed market sources, the 24,000-m2 asset is being sold by the BNP Paribas group as a redevelopment opportunity and is planned to be converted into a luxury hotel. The transaction price is expected to amount to some €200 mln. BNP Paribas Real Estate is advising the owner on the deal.
Orion declined to comment.
The purchase would be part of the group’s diversification strategy in Italy. Earlier this year the retail-focused investor agreed a joint venture with property tycoon Percassi’s Stilo Immobiliare Finanziaria to acquire three outlet villages in Turin, Sicily and Rome worth around €500 mln.
In January it bought the Milan 4 development project from the real estate arm of Berlusconi's Fininvest investment unit. The deal encompassed a 70,000 m2 development site in Bisceglie to the south-west of the city allowing for the construction of up to 700 apartments for a total development cost of €200-250 mln.
Similarly, in early 2019 it purchased another major development in Bisceglie near Milan from Milan-based Proiezioni Future, a 10/90 joint venture between Borio Mangiarotti, the Milan-based real estate builder and developer, and Värde Partners, the global alternative investment firm.
