Blackstone JV Nabs Allianz’s $255M Berlin Base

By Bogdan Odagescu, Associate Editor

An den Treptowers 3, Berlin

Berlin—Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe IV and Quantum Capital GmbH & Co. recently closed on the acquisition of An den Treptowers 3 in Berlin, a high-quality, 970,000-square-foot office asset. Deutsche Office, a 90.9 percent subsidiary of alstria office REIT-AG, cashed in approximately $255 million on the transaction.

The property, which sits in Berlin’s Mediaspree submarket, currently houses Allianz’s life insurance division. The Munich-based financial services company will completely vacate the building at the end of its current lease, which ends mid-2019. Currently, An den Treptowers 3 generates approximately $15.4 million in annual rental income.

“The sale of the Treptowers asset allows alstria to substantially de-risk its balance sheet,” said Olivier Elamine, CEO of alstria office REIT-AG, in a prepared statement. “We will be re-investing the proceeds of this sale mostly in the Berlin market, however, on smaller assets that better fit into the risk-return profile we are looking after.”

JLL brokered the transaction, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted as advisor for the seller. The buying consortium was advised by CBRE, Clifford Chance and PwC.

Blackstone’s 3.2 million-square-foot German portfolio, which focuses on prime assets in key locations across the country’s important metros, includes properties in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Dusseldorf.

This is Blackstone’s second big move in less than a week, following the naming of former Heineken COO Marc Bolland as head of European portfolio operations, private equity businesses, just a few days ago.

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