Qataris close purchase of French department store group Printemps

Private investors from Qatar have completed the acquisition of the Printemps department store business in France from Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management’s (DeAWM) real estate business and Italian businessman Maurizio Borletti.

DeAWM first announced in February this year that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with Qatari investors to sell its stake in the French group, which specialises in fashion, beauty and decorative items.

Financial details were not disclosed. However, according to press agency Reuters, the Printemps business fetched €1.75 bn.

Printemps owns 16 stores and had a turnover of €1.45 bn in its 2011/12 book year. The group's best known asset is a flagship store on boulevard Haussmann in Paris.

'The sale of Printemps marks one of the largest and most high profile transactions in the French market,' commented Gianluca Muzzi, head of Real Estate, Europe ex-Germany at DeAWM. 'The multifaceted aspects of this investment demonstrate the depth of our real estate team's transaction and asset management expertise.'

DeAWM - the real estate investment business of Deutsche Bank’s Asset & Wealth Management division - purchased Printemps in 2006 from retail and luxury group PPR group in a 70-30% association with the Borletti Group for €1.1 bn. They are believed to have spent around €350 mln on renovations since then.

Borletti is the owner of La Rinascente department store chain in Italy.