Private equity firm Terra Firma intends to list about 25% of Deutsche Annington, Germany's largest residential property company, this year.

Private equity firm Terra Firma intends to list about 25% of Deutsche Annington, Germany's largest residential property company, this year.

The partial IPO in Frankfurt is expected to raise €400 mln.

London-based Terra Firma established Deutsche Annington in 2001 and holds an 85% stake in the company.

Deutsche Annington is the owner of 180,000 residential units across Germany.

The company plans to use the proceeds of the IPO to help pay down debt.

Deutsche Annington said on Monday that it intends to fully pay back its commercial mortgage-backed security, German Residential Asset Note Distributor (GRAND) by October. Issued in 2006 for €5.8 bn, GRAND was the largest CMBS in Europe at the time.

About €3.8 bn remains outstanding.

Deutsche Annington agreed a €720 mln refinancing earlier this year and aims to get a further loan of €940 mln in the next few months.

US banking groups JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley are providing a further loan of €2.5 bn.