US alternative investment firm Värde Partners has boosted its presence in Iberia by taking over the management of a €800 mln portfolio of residential development assets in Spain from 'bad bank' Sareb.
Under the deal, certain Värde funds will acquire a 10% stake in the newly-formed Bank Asset Fund (FAB) that will hold the assets. The assets will be managed and developed by Aelca, a Spanish residential developer and asset management company owned by Värde.
Värde said it secured the mandate following a competitive bidding process. 'We are pleased to have been selected for this mandate by Sareb following a competitive evaluation process. We believe this underscores the remarkable quality of the Aelca platform and our team in Spain,' said Francisco Milone, partner and head of European real estate at Värde Partners.
'We look forward to establishing a long-term partnership with Sareb and converting these assets into thousands of homes across Spain,' he added.
Värde Partners was advised on the deal by Clifford Chance and Alantra. Garrigues and Colliers International acted for Sareb.
Iberian spending spree
Värde Partners set up an office in Spain in 2014, and has been active on the M&A front acquiring local asset managers to gain control of land and assets. In January 2019, Värde-owned Via Célere acquired the land bank assets of Aelca, making Via Célere one of the largest residential developers in Spain with a gross asset value of over €2.2 bn. Aelca continues to operate as an independent residential developer and manager.
Värde has been active in Italy too. In March the firm acquired an Italian non-performing loan (NPL) portfolio with a gross book value of around €734 mln on behalf of a group of investors together with credit manager Guber Banca.
Since 2006, Värde has invested $5.5 bn (€4.9 bn) of real estate assets across Europe. The firm manages $14 bn of assets globally.
