News from 09/26/2008
Union Investment: Acquisitions in Switzerland and Japan for €180mn
Union Investment Real Estate AG went shopping in Switzerland and Japan and spent a total of €180mn. With a project called “CityWest Gebäude F” in Zurich, the fund company took its first stake in Switzerland. The open-end fund UniImmo: Europa invested some €80mn in the unfinished office building which will have more than 20,400 sqm of lettable area. Completion of the project is scheduled for the middle of 2010. Union Investment announced that the seller, Marazzi Generalunternehmung AG, issued a rent guarantee for a term of 24 months after completion. In Japan, an existing property was acquired – an office building called “Glass City Harumi.” The open-end fund UniImmo: Global invested more than €100mn. The new acquisition is already the third Japanese property in the fund’s inventory. The 12-story building with a total lettable area of 11,200 sqm is situated in the Harumi district in Tokyo. According to Union Investment, it is completely rented.
TLG Immobilien: Sale to be postponed due to financial crisis?
The privatization of the eastern German property firm TLG Immobilien might possibly be postponed due to the financial crisis. The daily newspaper Die Welt reported that, except for U.S. investor Lone Star, all of the potential bidders had withdrawn from the auction procedure and that, in order to get a higher price, the German Federal Ministry of Finance is considering a later sale date for the company which holds assets amounting to approximately €1.5bn. Die Welt quoted Steffen Kampeter, the chairman of the CDU/CSU faction on the budget committee of the Federal Parliament, as saying, “Thanks to our good tax receipts in 2008, we’re not dependent on the proceeds of the TLG privatization.” The Ministry of Finance, however, told the paper that, for the time being, it was carrying on with the auction procedure supervised by Morgan Stanley, adding that potential bidders can still submit binding offers until next Tuesday.
Aldi Süd: Sales plans for 1,000 branches?
According to a media report, Aldi Süd is considering the sale of sizable property packages in Germany. The industry publication Lebensmittel Zeitung wrote that the discount chain is thinking, for the first time, of divesting itself of up to 1,000 of its approximately 1,700 branches in Germany. However, Aldi Süd, in a statement directed to the Lebensmittel Zeitung, has denied any sales plans of such dimensions, saying that only the sale of some 150 locations is being prepared. Nonetheless, quoting circles close to the firm, the Lebensmittel Zeitung maintains that the discounter wants to obtain liquidity through the sale to fund accelerated expansion in the U.S.A. and Great Britain.
Estavis: Sharp drop in sales proceeds and EBIT
In the business year 2007-2008, sales proceeds and earnings for Estavis AG fell considerably. Sales proceeds plunged by 26%, from €198.4mn to €147.5mn; earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) assessed according to IFRS plummeted from €16.6mn to €-6.8mn. The consolidated earnings of the concern totaled €-6.7mn (previous year: €8.8mn). No dividends are to be paid out. The firm attributes the slump particularly to a dip in the portfolio trading and to the investments in the developing of the new business segment in condominiums. For the current financial year, the board expects sales growth and a return to profitability. Continually higher figures are anticipated for the sale of condominiums. The earnings of Estavis’ subsidiary Hamburgische Immobilien before taxes dropped from €3.1mn to €1.1mn. Due to higher financing expenditures, the consolidated earnings of the concern fell to €-0.78mn (previous year: €1.65mn). While the subsidiary CWI Real Estate AG managed to boost its turnover from €4.1mn to €23.1mn, its earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) amounted to only €0.7mn – more than 50% below the previous year’s result of €1.5mn. The consolidated earnings of the concern sagged to €-1.0mn.
Deka Immobilien: Logistics project acquired in Italy for €60mn
For approximately €60mn, Deka Immobilien has acquired a logistics project in the northern Italian province of Piacenza. The seller is the real estate development firm Realty Vailog S.p.A. The project comprises three construction stages and a total area of some 115,700 sqm. The first stage, at nearly 54,000 sqm, will be completed by the middle of 2009. The Italian retailer Upim has already signed on as a long-term tenant.