Deutsche Bank SpA and Hines Italia SGR agree to set up a real estate fund (EU)

Deutsche Bank SpA and Hines Italia SGR announce an agreement to transfer a portfolio of 90 Italian branches of the Bank to a newly established real estate fund reserved for institutional investors.
The 90 branches, worth €134 mln, will be transferred to a fund named “Italian Banking Fund” as a contribution in kind. Deutsche Bank will also enter into lease agreements for said branches for a term of at least 12 years. The branches concerned represented the only ones still owned by Deutsche Bank out of the 358 the lender operates in Italy.
The IBF fund, set up and managed by Hines Italia SGR, is reserved for institutional investors. Qatar Investment Authority had entered into an agreement with the asset management firm to become the largest unit holder in the new fund, expanding the relationship started with the investment in the Porta Nuova funds and consolidated more recently with the acquisition of Credit Suisse's Milan office.
“The placement of IBF, the twelfth real estate fund managed by Hines Italia SGR, marks the consolidation of our leadership in the Italian market for real estate funds reserved for institutional investors”, said Manfredi Catella, CEO of Hines Italia SGR. “This is a confirmation of the business strategy we launched some years ago and which led us to invest over one billion euros in Italy over the last 12 months, especially in the retail, logistics and service industries. With this additional instrument and together with such a strategic partner as Qatar Investment Authority, which will be the largest and only unit-holder in IBF, we are entering the banking segment, which we see as particularly interesting and rife with opportunities for us to seize in Italy. The fund will start with approximately €300 million already being committed”.
“We are very satisfied with the agreement reached with Hines Italia SGR”, added Flavio Valeri, Chief Country Officer Italy, Deutsche Bank. “This transaction testifies to the renewed and active interest in Italy among investors and is consistent with Deutsche Bank's clear strategy to capitalise upon its real estate assets, in line with the trend observed in the industry over the last few years. This allows us to increasingly focus on our core business as well as to continue investing in Italy, which represents the Group's largest retail market in Europe after Germany.”
Source: Deutsche Bank S.p.A. 

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