RS Platou Real Estate acquires Realkapital Partners (NO)

RS Platou Real Estate, the real estate arm of RS Platou, a world-leading international ship- and offshore broking company, is buying the Norwegian fund management company Realkapital Partners.

RS Platou Real Estate was established in 2009 by seasoned professionals from the Nordic real estate market. Realkapital Partners have since inception in 2006 structured, invested and managed four real estate funds, having invested mainly in opportunistic real estate projects in mainland Europe.

Included in the acquisition is also Realkapital Partners' regulated Luxembourg platform, which is well positioned for future funds and international capital raising.RS Platou Real Estate and Realkapital Partners are currently having complimentary businesses and competences. The aim is to become the leading Norwegian player for real estate investments.

Since the inception in 2009, RS Platou Real Estate have done 15 real estate acquisitions in Norway, totaling ca. NOK 2.5 billion (€325 million), of which two have already been divested with a good investor profit.

The team at RS Platou Real Estate have previously managed real estate transactions of ca. NOK 23 billion in mainly Norway, Sweden, Germany and Lithuania. Realkapital Partners is managing four real estate funds, totaling ca. NOK 1.5 billion. Two of the funds have European mandates, having invested in 15 properties in France, Germany, Sweden, Poland and Slovakia.

The two latter funds have mandates to invest in real estate funds through the secondary market, exploiting illiquidity and mispricing in the market for Nordic real estate funds resulting from the global financial crisis. Realkapital Partners will become a daughter company of RS Platou Real Estate and will be the Group's real estate fund arm.

"The acquisition of Realkapital Partners is an important move in RS Platou's target of strengthening its Asset Management services and in offering investors a complete range of services. The purchase of Realkapital Partners enables an access to existing fund platforms, together with the team's strong competence and track record in structuring and managing real estate projects and funds. Together we expect to grow this business considerably, and we are already in progress with numerous exciting initiatives," says Hans Martin Haug, Partner in RS Platou Real Estate.

"Through Realkapital Partners' Luxembourg platform, we see a potential in further exploiting the wide international investor network of RS Platou into real estate investments," says Lars R. Kristiansen, Partner in RS Platou Real Estate.

"2011 was a challenging year in the market. Still, and thanks to a strong Q4, RS Platou Real Estate had a top line growth of more than 30 %. Largely, the profits have been allocated to strategic investments. We have exclusively professional customers, and will continue to deliver high quality service throughout the value chain," says Hans Martin Haug, Partner in RS Platou Real Estate.

Morten Kampli, Managing Partner at Realkapital Partners, is delighted by the take-over.

"We welcome the acquisition by RS Platou Real Estate in order to strengthen our Norwegian operation, and to improve our capital raising capabilities for future fund initiatives. The two teams have complementary competences and businesses, ensuring a broad platform and excellent opportunities for a very attractive palette of investment possibilities," says Kampli.

Source: Realkapital Partners

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