A trio of US investors dominate PropertyEU’s Top Dealmakers ranking for 2014 following a record volume of loan portfolio acquisitions in Europe over the year.
A trio of US investors dominate PropertyEU’s Top Dealmakers ranking for 2014 following a record volume of loan portfolio acquisitions in Europe over the year.
US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management emerged as the biggest dealmaker in Europe in 2014 after affiliates invested a staggering €17.7 bn in European NPLs, accounting for 22% of all closed commercial real estate and real estate-owned transactions. The firm was particularly active in the fourth quarter, when six transactions made up 41% of the entire European NPL deal volume.
Major deals concluded by Cerberus affiliates in 2014 included the purchase of the Project Eagle loan portfolio from Ireland’s bad bank NAMA for €1.7 bn, at a 70% discount to face value. The firm also acquired UlsterBank’s Project Aran portfolio for €1.1 bn, a 77% discount, and the €660 mln Project Avon loanbook from the UK’s Lloyds Banking Group for €434 mln, at a 34% discount.
------------------------
Check out the ranking and details of individual investors via our Top Investors app which is available free of charge during MIPIM 2015. Afterwards it will be for subscribers only.
------------------------
Lone Star was a close second after forking out €16 bn on loan portfolios including Coeur Défense, the largest office complex in Europe, from the note holders of the busted CMBS supporting the tower. The purchase price of €1.2 bn represented a 40% discount to the €2.1 bn it traded for at the peak of the market in July 2007. An end-of-the-year flurry of deals included a mix of traditional retail and office assets and hotels, as well as residential and student accommodation in the UK for €1.3 bn in an off-market deal from two 2005-2007 vintage private equity funds managed by UK-based Moorfield Group. At end-2014, the US firm was picked as the buyer of Neinor, the property management arm of Spanish lender Kutxabank, as well as about 50% of its real estate assets for €930 mln.
US peer Blackstone also ranked prominently in our annual review of the leading dealmakers in Europe after spending more than €8 bn on loan portfolios and another €7 bn on direct real estate. Last year, the New York-listed company emerged as one of the biggest winners in our Top Investors ranking based on assets under management of €17 bn in Europe as of end-2013, up from €7 bn a year earlier. The figures are estimates as Blackstone does not publically break down its investments.
Check out the ranking and details of individual investors via our Top Investors app which is available free of charge during MIPIM 2015. Afterwards it will be for subscribers only.
