Montepino, which develops and manages logistics assets in Spain and Portugal, was recently acquired by the new alternative investment vehicle of Bankinter Investment, owned by Valfondo, Montepino’s founding partner and manager, Bankinter, and its private banking and institutional clients.
 
The refinancing transaction, which represents the largest underwriting ever to be carried out by a bank in the Spanish logistics sector and one of the largest in Europe, has enabled ‘optimal acquisition financing conditions’ by the Bankinter Investment vehicle as well as to support the current projects under construction, ING said. Amounting to €470 mln, the loan has a maturity of 5 years. As sole bookrunner, ING has now commenced the loan syndication process.
 
‘We are very proud of being able to finance this interesting and highly complex real estate acquisition. Our client focus and our sector expertise has enabled us to support both Bankinter and Montepino throughout the process, with ING acting as the sole bookrunner for the deal,’ said Julián Bravo, head of real estate at ING Spain & Portugal.
 
Bankinter Investment, the Investment Banking division of Bankinter, announced the acquisition in mid May of the 95% stake of Montepino from CBRE Global Investors through a company created by Bankinter, together with Montepino's managing partner, Valfondo. The REIT arisen from this deal will have Bankinter and Valfondo as shareholders, with 6.4% and 5.1% respectively, in addition to the bank’s private banking and institutional clients. It will be the largest logistics assets REIT in Spain.
 
Montepino's portfolio comprises 22 operational logistics assets, with a gross area of 865,000 m2 and 13 projects under development that are expected to exceed 1.2 million m2 in the coming years, with a gross asset value of €1.2 bn. Montepino is one of the largest logistics developers in Spain and among the top 10 in Europe. Montepino's assets, with an average age of not more than two years, combine Big Box or XXL and last mile logistics platforms and are built in strategic locations for logistics.
 
During the last 18 months, and despite the sector’s uncertainty due to the current market environment, ING has closed 10 deals with a volume of more than €800 mln of new financing. A significant part of that is accounted for by the logistics sector, an area in which ING has been particularly active since 2014, and where it has seen potential due to the growth in ecommerce.