Swiss Corestate to go public with €150m IPO

Swiss asset manager Corestate announced on Monday that it is preparing an initial public offering on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt stock Exchange.

Zug-based Corestate intends to issue €100 mln of new shares from a capital increase as well as to offer shares held by existing shareholders to allow for a free float of over 50% after the IPO.

Currently around 70.9% of the share capital is held by the company's two founders, Ralph Winter (64.2%) and Thomas Landschreiber (6.7%).

Swiss listed firm Intershop Holding is also a core shareholder with a 28.1% interest.

Corestate said the offer will also include a customary greenshoe of up to 15% of the volume of the offering, comprising existing shares from the holdings of the existing shareholders.

The shares will be offered in a public placement in Germany and in a private placement to institutional investors in certain jurisdictions outside of Germany and outside of the US, Corestate added.

'Since the founding of the company in 2006, Corestate has developed into a leading real estate investment manager,' said Sascha Wilhelm, CEO of Corestate Capital Holding. 'Thanks to our efficient platform, a strong network for deal sourcing and equity raising, and our experienced management team, we have already executed real estate transactions with a total volume of €5 bn. Going public will allow us to build upon what we have achieved so far. It is the next logical step for us in driving our continued growth.'

Once listed, the company said it is planning a dividend ratio of 60% to 70% of its funds from operations (FFO) which amounted to nearly €15 mln in 2014.

Corestate intends to use the proceeds from the capital increase to increase the number of transactions and to execute higher-volume deals, allowing the company to offer investment products for institutional clients.

The company currently manages around €1.4 bn of assets, including developments.

Berenberg will act as the sole global coordinator and bookrunner. Bankhaus Lampe has been mandated as co-bookrunner.