Italy´s state-owned energy company Enel sold 887 properties worth € 1.4 billion to a consortium of CDC IXIS and a third-party opportunity fund managed by DB Real Estate. Deutsche Bank acted as sole financial advisor, and provided the acquisition financing to the buyers.
The portfolio consists of office, retail, industrial and development properties throughout Italy. The transaction is one of the most significant ever in the Italian real estate market, and is an important step in Enel´s strategy of focusing on electricity and gas. Enel will continue to use most of the properties through various group companies on the basis of long-term lease contracts.
The transaction is indicative of a strong European trend in which non-real estate companies are decreasing the ownership of corporate real estate to optimize the use of available capital and focus on their core businesses.
Source: Deutsche Bank Real Estate
