Morgan Stanley Real Estate's Special Situations Fund III has announced that it has acquired a 25% stake in WAN SA, a Warsaw-based real estate development company active in the residential, office and logistics sectors. This transaction is Morgan Stanley Real Estate's first investment in Poland.
Special Situations made this investment through a dedicated capital increase and through the acquisition of existing shares from current shareholders. The partnership between Morgan Stanley Real Estate and WAN is aimed at strengthening WAN's growth strategy in Poland over the coming years.
Commenting on the transaction, John Carrafiell, Global Co-Head of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing, said, "Morgan Stanley Real Estate has a proven track record in identifying opportunities in exciting new markets, having already made pioneering investments in Russia, Turkey, China and India. We believe Poland's strong economic growth, and its strong demand for quality real estate, provide an attractive opportunity to expand our investment platform." Mr. Carrafiell added, "WAN is a fast-growing and entrepreneurial company with an outstanding track record of organic growth. We are excited at the prospect of contributing to its future success through this capital injection, which will be used to invest in several attractive projects in Warsaw and other parts of Poland."
Witold Anyszka, President of the Supervisory Board of WAN, said, "I am proud that Morgan Stanley, one of the world's leading financial institutions and real estate investors, has chosen WAN as its partner. The partnership with Morgan Stanley Real Estate will allow us to continue the realization of our strategy not only in Warsaw, but also throughout Poland, and to expand our presence in various market segments. I am confident, that together we can achieve our goal of listing WAN on the Warsaw Stock Exchange within the next few years."
Source: Morgan Stanley
