KarstadtQuelle AG, Essen, has successfully concluded its 2005 restructuring year. Thomas Middelhoff, the Chairman of the Management Board, announced at a press conference, that further disinvestment projects had been successfully completed ahead of schedule. A parcel of 40 logistics properties had been sold for considerably more than €400 million, primarily to international investor groups, with some of them being leased back.
The properties included the Quelle logistics center in Leipzig and the regional goods distribution center in Munich. The buyer was IXIS Capital Partners, which had previously acquired the logistics properties in Unna, Essen and Brieselang. Slough Estates International plc. had acquired a total of 36 properties, including those in Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover and Düsseldorf.
As a result of the Group's improved financing structure, the option of directly selling the Neckermann headquarters in Frankfurt/Main, also part of the parcel, was not exercised. Instead, the external pension fund of the KarstadtQuelle Group (CTA) participated in the attractive property with high yields.
Source: KarstadtQuelle
