ORCO Germany, as a subsidiary of ORCO Property Group, announces the successful closing on 23rd June of the acquisition of Viterra Development, Essen. Total value of the transaction including the assumption of debt and the takeover of a number of properties is approximately €75 million.
With this acquisition Orco supplements its own portfolio through Viterra's substantial projects and real estates in the 5 major German cities as well as in Prague and in Warsaw.
First projects have already been launched together. Amongst others are the go-ahead for the realisation of the Viterra-developed Sky Office in Düsseldorf - innovative office areas on 23 floors, with roughly 37,400 m² gross space, located between the city center, the exhibition centre and the airport. At 89 metres, the building is the new landmark on the Kennedydamm, Düsseldorf's Mecca for top companies.
The Berlin City Centre site at Voßstr. 19 is situated directly opposite the Canadian Embassy and adjoins the Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Platz, city squares steeped in history. The land was originally purchased by the German Federal Government and has already been sold to a private investor. On this 1,000 m² site, a villa with offices and a leasing area of 1,800 m² will soon grace the area - construction starts this week and should be finished sometime in 2007.
The neighbouring sites, Voßstraße 17, 18 and Ebertstrasse 19, with a total area of 3,000 m², were also purchased by the Jewish Claims Conference. The plans are to build an Embassy building as well as an office and commercial building. CB Ellis Richards acted as sole consultant and negotiator for these acquisitions.
With the takeover of Viterra Development, Orco has established a new focal point for its business activities on German soil - while at the same time reinforcing its Central and Eastern European strategy. This transaction has gained the Orco Property Group an experienced team of 80 professionals based in Germany, Warsaw and Prague.
The acquisition of Viterra Development will have a positive impact on ORCO's NAV and bring positive cash flow to Orco Property Group. Potentially, it will contribute €60 to 80 million turnover per year from 2006 onwards and €130 million in cash flow over the next 3 years.
Source: ORCO
