Italian real estate company Sorgente Group has launched a REIT, having postponed the plan last year.
The €5bn investor, owner of New York’s Flatiron building, has been given authority by Italian regulator Consob to offer shares in a controlled subsidiary, Sorgente Real Estate System (RES).
The offer, which could raise as much as €439m, is open until 9 October.
Sorgente applied to Borsa Italiana for SIIQ (società di investmento immobiliare quotata) status earlier this year.
RES is Italy’s third REIT.
As reported last year, Sorgente, which owns assets such as Galleria Colonna in Rome, postponed the IPO due to volatility in financial markets.
Sorgente said a listing remained a strategic objective for this year, “given the interest shown by the market”, particularly coming from foreign institutional investors.
At the time, chairman and chief executive Valter Mainetti said in a statement the project to list Sorgente RES remained a priority.
Italian media reported that the offering could be worth €500m-600m.
Sorgente, the first company to launch a dedicated institutional real estate fund for Italian investors, last year held roadshows in London, New York and Amsterdam to attract foreign capital.
