The 2007 acquisition of the Pegasus Portfolio of 53 commercial properties in Germany by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF) and Germany’s IVG Immobilien takes the top award in the portfolio category of PropertyEU's Deal of the Decade Awards.
In 2007 Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF) and Germany’s IVG Immobilien acquired the Pegasus Portfolio of 53 commercial properties in the Rhine-Main and Berlin regions from Union Investment Real Estate for €2.49 bn. Atisreal and Latham Watkins acted as advisors to the seller. MSREF acquired 28 properties, including the Neues Kranzler Eck development in Berlin and the Frankfurter Welle, while IVG bought 25 properties.
In submitting the deal, Union Investment said the Pegasus Portfolio offered investors a ‘unique opportunity’ to acquire an attractive portfolio located mainly in Germany’s major office and investment locations. The composition of the portfolio also allowed it to be further structured after acquisition and permitted investment criteria to be optimised accordingly. The portfolio’s highly diversified cash flow structure resulting from different types of occupancy – with offices accounting for 59% of the space – provided further appeal.
Jury comment
The jury noted that the Pegasus deal was one of the largest portfolio transactions ever to be carried out in Germany, ‘an example of perfect timing and good structuring of a complex transaction’.
‘This transaction led by example in terms of size and significance to all the parties concerned as well as to the market as a whole. It deserves recognition as the front runner of numerous transaction that followed,’ the jury said.
1st RUNNER-UP
In 2013 AXA IMRA concluded the sale and leaseback of a 25-asset portfolio in Barcelona from the regional government of Catalonia, for €172 mln. JLL acted as adviser to the buyer, while CBRE represented the seller. The jury said the deal showed courage and good timing as it was done at a time of economic crisis in Spain as well as turbulence in the eurozone.
2ND RUNNER-UP
In 2013 M&G Real Estate acquired the British Car Auctions portfolio from Montagu Private Equity for £240 mln. CBRE, PwC, Boston Consulting Group and Hogal Lovells acted as advisers to the buyer, while Dean Street Advisers, Bell Capital Partners and Linklaters acted for the seller. The judges said that M&G combined its fixed income and real estate capabilities to complete the complex transaction in a tight time-frame and showed resourcefulness in investing in a niche sector, acquiring 18 car auction sites leased to a car remarketing business with a strong track record of growth.
