Sveafastigheter sells €340m Nordic portfolio, links up with AP3

Nordic private equity firm Sveafastigheter has announced the sale of a 250,000 m2 commercial property portfolio for around SEK 3.2 bn (€336 mln).

The portfolio, held by Sveafastigheter's Fund II, was acquired by Partners Group, a global private markets investment manager headquartered in Switzerland, via a secondary transaction on behalf of its clients.

The portfolio includes 32 properties in Sweden, Finland and Estonia, incorporating retail, office, hotel and public use properties with a total lettable area of 250,000 m2. Sveafastigheter will continue to manage the portfolio, which includes a mix of development and income-producing assets.

Partners Group entered the Nordics earlier this year with the purchase of a 30-asset portfolio for NOK 3.7 bn (€440 mln) from Storebrands Eiendomsfond, a Norwegian real estate fund that was being wound down.

Fund II
Sveafastigheter's Fund II was launched in 2006 and closed in 2009 with equity commitments of SEK 1.2 bn. After the sale to Partners Group, it holds assets with an underlying property value of SEK 230 mln.

'We are proud to have been able to deliver top performing returns to our investors in Sveafastigheter Fund II over the life of the fund. We are also glad to have been given the trust to continue to manage and further develop the properties together with Partners Group and our local partners,' said Sveafastigheter CEO Johan Tengelin.

Fabian Neuenschwander, senior vice-president, Partners Group added: 'We forecast continued strong performance in Nordic real estate markets, along with Estonia, and see a lot of potential in the assets we have acquired from Sveafastigheter Fund II. We were able to buy the portfolio at an attractive price in a proprietary transaction on behalf of our clients. We also secured new debt financing for the portfolio, positioning the assets well for further value creation efforts in partnership with Sveafastigheter.'

Senior financing for the transaction was provided by Nordea Bank. Leimdörfer and Roschier advised the vendor, while Wistrand and PwC acted for the buyer.

Pension joint venture
Separately, Sveafastigheter announced on Tuesday that it has entered into a cooperation with the Third National Swedish Pension Fund (AP3) to establish a new property company focused on office and retail properties in growing regional cities in Sweden.

The unit will be majority owned by AP3 and managed by Sveafastigheter. The joint venture has already completed three acquisitions involving 15 commercial properties in Eskilstuna, Skövde, Halmstad, Trollhättan and Östersund and two retail properties in Karlskrona for a total of close to SEK 700 mln.

'The venture fits well with Sveafastigheter’s broadened strategy to offer attractive and clearly structured investment opportunities, with another time horizon than that of e traditional funds,' Tengelin said.