Sweden's largest property company Vasakronan said it has divested its Dombron residential property unit to one of its four shareholders, the Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund. The transaction volume amounts to SEK 5.4 bn (EUR 565 mln), making it one of the largest residential portfolio deals ever in Sweden.

Sweden's largest property company Vasakronan said it has divested its Dombron residential property unit to one of its four shareholders, the Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund. The transaction volume amounts to SEK 5.4 bn (EUR 565 mln), making it one of the largest residential portfolio deals ever in Sweden.

'The divestment is part of a change in the strategy of the company, which is now looking to focus exclusively on commercial real estate', CEO Frederick Wirdenius told PropertyEU in an interview. 'The residential assets represented only a minor part of our portfolio - around 8%, and the management decided to become more specialised in terms of segments and focus its attention on the commercial sector. We are already specialised in terms of locations.'

Vasakronan, which is controlled by four Swedish pension funds, currently holds a commercial portfolio focused on five Swedish locations, Stockholm, Uppsala, Gothenburg, Malmo and Lund.

Dombron owns 8,000 apartments in Stockholm, Uppsala and Gothenburg with a total area of 480,000 m2. Following the sale, Vasakronan controls a further 1,000 apartments which are not planned for divestment as they are linked to office and retail premises, Wirdenius said.

The transaction is expected to be completed on 1 July, 2010.

'After an extensive process, which saw the participation of several market players, we are now happy to sell the portfolio to the Fourth National Pension Fund. With this operation we did not have to compromise between best price and a long-term and serious offer', Wirdenius added.

Leimdörfer advised Vasakronan during the process.