With a repayment of around 180 million, IVG Immobilien AG has taken a further step towards reducing the Group's liabilities and systematically implemented its debt reduction program in April 2011. In doing so, IVG has even surpassed its contractually agreed repayment by 6 million.
The program currently provides for repayments totaling 500 million on 2009's so-called SynLoan II. The aim is to reduce IVG's gearing from currently around 70% to a range of 60% to 65% in the medium term.
IVG generated the funds for the current repayment of around 180 million from the scheduled, on-time disposal of six caverns to the cavern fund which was initiated by IVG in the autumn of 2008 and which is subscribed to by renowned institutional investors from Germany. The caverns' tenants are well-known energy corporations. IVG had initiated its debt reduction program in December 2010 with its first repayment of 120 million.
The funds for this came from the scheduled sale of four caverns to the cavern fund. In the first quarter of the year, in addition to smaller repayment installments for current loans (around 35 million since mid-December), IVG repaid the loan of 114 million used to finance a project development in Berlin that it has now successfully sold. Thus, the Group has cut its liabilities by around 450 million in just a few months.
Income from the sale of properties, which exceeds the partially existent object-specific loans, is largely being used for planned investment activities such as cavern construction. In mid-April 2011, for example, IVG sold an office property in the greater Paris area that was let to an international bank at the end of last year to an
institutional investor for a high eight-figure amount. The proceeds from the disposal exceeded the current fair value.
Source: IVG Immobilien AG
