TMW Weltfonds to re-open by year-end

Pramerica Real Estate Investors said on Friday that it expects to re-open its TMW Immobilien Weltfonds by the end of 2009 after having raised the fund's liquidity ratio to about 20%. The fund's increased liquidity is the result of the sale of two properties in Switzerland and the US, it added. The disposals, announced last week, took place above market value. The vehicle is currently negotiating further sales.

Pramerica, the property arm of US financial institution Prudential Financial, froze redemptions from its Weltfonds open-ended vehicle in October 2008 after the liquidity levels of the fund dropped to just 8.5%. 'TMW Pramerica is convinced that the suspension of redemptions of TMW Immobilien Weltfonds can be stopped during the fourth quarter of 2009,' the company said.

The company's management is also proposing a strategic reorientation aimed at improving the fund's profile. Weltfonds will become a 'green' open-ended vehicle investing in sustainable properties and projects in the future. The German investor has appointed Okorenta, a company specialised in sustainable investments, to advise it on the new business direction.

Finally, Pramerica said that the fund was able to renegotiate the acquisition of the Ribera del Xuquer shopping centre in Spain and obtain a discount of EUR 10 mln on the initial purchase price. The mall, which was acquired before redemptions were suspended, is located in Valencia and offers 81,000 m² of gross space.