Italian property giant Pirelli Real Estate would be interested in acquiring the property owned by German department store chain Kaufhof in the event the owner Metro decided to put the assets up for sale, CEO Carlo Puri Negri said during a conference this week of the Italian real estate industry association Assoimmobiliare.
Italian property giant Pirelli Real Estate would be interested in acquiring the property owned by German department store chain Kaufhof in the event the owner Metro decided to put the assets up for sale, CEO Carlo Puri Negri said during a conference this week of the Italian real estate industry association Assoimmobiliare.
Pirelli RE, which recently bought a 49% stake in Arcandor's Highstreet retail portfolio together with RREEF and other investors, added that the operation would be carried out together with other partners.
In March, Germany's leading retailer Metro said it may consider the sale of its Kaufhof department stores as they no longer form 'a strategic part of Metro Group'. The stores comprise 1.5 million m2 across 141 locations, mostly in city centres.
Puri Negri also confirmed that Pirelli RE had launched an offer for the EUR 500mln worth of assets that bank Italease is putting on the market. He noted that the company's 2008-2010 business plan is due to be unveiled in the autumn, adding that the company is currently carrying out an internal strategic review.
Earlier this year, Arcandor's CEO Thomas Middelhoff expressed interest in the Kaufhof assets, which according to him could be acquired in a consortium with Deutsche Bank's RREEF and other partners.
