News from 09/13/2007
Deutsche Bank: Shares in Hong Kong Link REIT more than quadrupled
According to information provided by the Reuters News Agency, Deutsche Bank has increased its stake in Link REIT more than fourfold. Now holding just under 22.5% of the shares, the institution has become the largest investor in Link, thus topping the hedge fund TCI. Effective from September 4th, Deutsche Bank holds 482 million shares (August: 110 million) directly or via funds, as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange informed. The shares are held on behalf of customers of Deutsche Bank. Up to now, neither Deutsche Bank nor Link REIT have made any comments concerning the deal. The property company is the first REIT listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and has invested in 180 retail buildings and parking facilities. According to statements by its management, with around 1 million m² of Internal Floor Area (IRA) in the retail sector and ca. 80,000 parking spaces, Link REIT reaches ca. 40% of Hong Kong’s 7 million inhabitants.
Bilfinger Berger: Bid won for €100mn project in Sweden
Bilfinger Berger, a construction company based in Mannheim, has won a bid for a €100mn project in Sweden. The commission includes tunnel work at the northern by-pass of Stockholm. Already responsible for planning and constructing an adjacent part of the project with a volume of €89mn, the company is expecting further contracts for the project’s remaining sections.
Berlin: Investment dynamic expected at the main train station
Through the relocation of Deutsche Bahn AG to the main train station, Vivico, a federally-owned property firm, expects some impulse for the city quarter to the south. Vivico spokesman Wilhelm Brandt thinks that planning for the six designated buildings has been set in motion. Architecture contests have already taken place, and properties with a total of up to 100,000 m² of gross surface area are projected. Most of the plots are owned by Vivico, which is currently in talks with several investors. Furthermore, Brandt expects that the 2,000 employees of the transportation company that are moving to the main train station would create a demand for restaurants and retail stores that would exceed current supply. No rapid development is looming on the horizon for the area north of the main train station. Because Deutsche Bahn does not want to move into the planned 150 m high building, but into a yet to be constructed “cube building� on Washingtonplatz, it remains open if the high rise will even be built.
HSH Nordbank: Credit portfolio sold to Pirelli RE and Calyon
HSH Nordbank AG has sold a credit portfolio with a nominal volume of €69mn to a joint venture of Calyon (67%) and Pirelli Real Estate (RE) Deutschland (33%). It consists of 36 cancelled credits that are collateralized through rented commercial properties and residential buildings. Silence was agreed to over the purchase price. Pirelli RE and Calyon were advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Engel & Völkers, and Immofori. According to their own information, the asset manager Pirelli RE and Calyon, the investment branch of the French Credit Agricole, are planning to acquire more credit portfolios in the coming months.
HCI/Behringer Harvard: Office properties acquired in Amsterdam for €14.5mn
The joint venture of HCI Capital AG and the US property investor Behringer Harvard has acquired two office buildings in the Netherlands with a total investment volume of €14.5mn. Both properties shall be brought into the closed-ended Behringer Harvard Strategic Oppportunity Fund II LP. The properties are located in Amsterdam. They possess a total rentable area of around 7,400 m², rented on a short- to intermediate-term basis to three parties. At present, 46% of the rentable area is empty. According to its own information, HCI wants to increase the value of the properties through the targeted full rental and the renewal of existing contracts.