In the latest acquisition by US private equity in Europe, New York-based Marathon Asset Management has emerged as the buyer of the 55-property strong portfolio of Internos' German Retail Partnership fund.

In the latest acquisition by US private equity in Europe, New York-based Marathon Asset Management has emerged as the buyer of the 55-property strong portfolio of Internos' German Retail Partnership fund.

Internos, the €3.9 bn real estate fund management firm set up by Jos Short, has sold the remaining assets in GRP on behalf of the fund's shareholders to a vehicle advised by MAM Advisory, a subsidiary of Marathon.

The vendor was advised by law firm Reed Smith and consultant Schulte Real Estate Investment.

In October, Marathon had already bought the MKV mixed-use asset in Munich from Internos' BGP Investment, the former joint venture between Australian companies Babcock & Brown and the GPT Group.

The GRP assets comprise a total of 132,500 m2 and are a combination of neighbourhood shopping centres, retail parks and stand-alone supermarkets geographically spread across Germany, with a concentration of 70% in western Germany. The properties are well-let and anchored by strong national retail chains such as Rewe, Netto, Norma, Edeka and Penny.

Financial details were not disclosed. However, PropertyEU estimates the value of the properties to be in the region of €150 mln.

The German Retail Partnership (GRP) was launched in December 2007 as a closed-ended Luxembourg ‘fonds commun de placement’, having raised €136.5 mln in equity commitments from five investor groups including co-investment by The GPT Group. It targeted higher yielding German retail assets with lot sizes of €1 mln to € 20 mln.

Jos Short, executive chairman of Internos Global Investors, said: 'Internos took over the fund and asset management of GRP in December 2009. We are delighted to have achieved a good outcome for our investors. This final portfolio sale marks the end of the fund and its liquidation.'