Colonia Real Estate AG (ISIN DE0006338007) announces its
acquisition of 51 percent stakes in two residential real estate
companies with aggregate holdings of 10,100 residential units from BGP
Investment S.a r.l. and Babcock & Brown Residential Property 1 S.a
r.l. & Co. KG. The residential units in the cities of Aachen,
Freiburg, Hamburg, Kiel, Koln, Osnabruck und Salzgitter have an
aggregate of 623,000 square meters of lettable space. Approximately 85
percent of the space is let at present, currently generating an annual
net rental income of almost EUR 30 million. Colonia Real Estate AG has
the right to acquire the remaining 49 percent of the companies from
BGP Investment S.a r.l. - a joint venture between the Australian
Babcock & Brown Group and GPT Group - and Babcock & Brown Residential
Property 1 S.a r.l. & Co. KG until 30 November 2008. The sellers have
an option to sell their remaining stakes to Colonia Real Estate AG
that may be exercised until 30 June 2009 in the event Colonia Real
Estate AG does not exercise its call option. The purchase price for
the 51 percent stakes and the exercise price on both the call and the
put option are based on a current valuation of the companies. The
parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price and option exercise
price. The implementation of the transaction is subject to merger
control conditions.
Upon the acquisition, the current debt financing of the acquired
residential real estate companies with an annual interest rate of 3.87
percent and a maturity of six years will remain. Colonia Real Estate
AG's subsidiary Resolution GmbH will be exclusively responsible for
the asset management of the two companies, while the previous property
manager, Kruger Immobilien GmbH, will continue to be responsible for
the property management.
Colonia Real Estate AG has sufficient equity capital to effect
this transaction. Nevertheless, the company is considering a variety
of financing alternatives, including a future increase in capital, to
finance this and future transactions.
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Information and Explanation of the Issuer to this News:
Explanatory part:
'Through the majority ownership of both residential real estate
companies we reached our full-year 2007 target - to increase our
residential real estate assets from 9,000 to around 20,000 units -
ahead of schedule. Furthermore, we are pleased to have won BGP and
Babcock & Brown as well-renowned business partners ', mentioned
Stephan Rind, CEO of Colonia Real Estate AG, after the signing of the
purchase contract. 'In addition to a favorable financing structure of
the residential real estate companies, we also expect to achieve
economies of scale on our current residential real estate portfolio
and therefore reduce costs on running the portfolios. We intend to
reduce the current vacancy rates in the portfolios of the acquired
companies through active asset management during the next years. With
these measures, we plan to further increase the cash flows of the
Colonia Real Estate Group. Furthermore, the transaction will diversify
the portfolio of Colonia Real Estate AG beyond Hamburg and Lower
Saxony to the Cologne, Aachen and Freiburg regions.'
About Colonia Real Estate AG
Colonia Real Estate AG (Reuters: KBUG.DE / Bloomberg: KBU GY) is a
listed real estate investment and management group focusing on the
German market. Its integrated business model consists of three
synergistic cornerstones: The Investment Division concentrates on
high-yield residential property portfolios held for the company's
account and opportunistic co-investments in commercial real estate
together with prominent partners. Resolution GmbH specializes in asset
management for the Group as well as for complex domestic real estate
portfolios held by international investors, whom it also advises on
transactions. The focus is on yield optimization and realizing
appreciation potential. CRE Fonds Management GmbH's core business is
the conception, the marketing and the management of structured
investment products such as closed-end real estate funds for
institutional investors and private clients.
About Babcock & Brown
Babcock & Brown is a global investment and advisory firm with
longstanding capabilities in structured finance and the creation,
syndication and management of asset and cash flow-based investments.
Babcock & Brown was founded in 1977 and is listed on the Australian
Stock Exchange. Babcock & Brown operates from 26 offices across
Australia, North America, Europe, Asia, United Arab Emirates and
Africa and has in excess of 1000 employees worldwide. Babcock & Brown
has five operating divisions including real estate, infrastructure and
project finance, operating leasing, structured finance and corporate
finance. The company has established a funds management platform
across the operating divisions that has resulted in the creation of a
number of focused investment vehicles in areas including real estate,
renewable energy and infrastructure.
About GPT Group
GPT Group is one of Australia's largest listed property groups,
with total assets of EUR 7 billion and a market capitalization of EUR
5.4 billion, making it one of the top 40 entities listed on the
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). GPT has a history of investment in
high quality properties in the retail, office, industrial and business
park sectors, as well as hotel and tourism. GPT has been listed on an
Australian Stock Exchange since April 1971 and is one of Australia's
longest running listed property groups. GPT management has a wealth of
experience and has a substantial investor base. GPT securities are
owned by over 40,000 investors, including large Australian and
overseas institutions. The Group has a strong balance sheet, a diverse
range of capital sources and is focused on further diversifying and
expanding its real estate investments and operations in Australia and
globally.
This release is not a prospectus and, to the extent that it may
constitute an advertisement, does not constitute an offer to sell or
the solicitation of an offer to purchase the shares or other
securities of Colonia Real Estate AG.
This release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United
States of America. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United
States of America absent registration or an exemption from
registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Any
public offering of securities to be made in the United States of
America will be made by means of a prospectus that may be obtained
from Colonia Real Estate AG and that will contain detailed information
about the company and management, as well as financial statements.
The information contained herein is not for publication or
distribution in Canada, Australia or Japan and does not constitute an
offer of securities for sale in Canada, Australia or Japan.
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on
current assumptions and forecasts made by the management of Colonia
Real Estate AG. Various risks, uncertainties and other factors could
lead to material differences between the actual future results,
financial situation, development or performance of Colonia Real Estate
AG and the estimates given here. Colonia Real Estate AG assumes no
liability whatsoever to update these
forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or
developments.
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Colonia Real Estate AG
Christoph D. Kauter
Head of Investor Relations
Zeppelinstr. 4-8 50667
Koln
Telefon: +49 (0)221 71 60 71 0
Fax: +49 (0) 221 71 60 71 99
E-Mail: ir@cre.ag
or
Citigate Dewe Rogerson GmbH
Sylvia Faber
Goethestrasse 26-28 60313
Frankfurt am Main
Tel: 0049-69 90 500 - 100
Fax: 0049-69 90 500 - 101
E-Mail: sylvia.faber@citigatedr.de
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Language: English
Issuer: Colonia Real Estate AG
Zeppelinstr. 4 - 8 50667
Koln Deutschland
Phone: 0221-716071-0 Fax: 0221-716071-99
E-mail: info@cre.ag
www.cre.ag
ISIN: DE0006338007
WKN: 633800
Indices: SDAX, GPR 250, MSCI Germany Small Cap Index, FTSE EPRA/
NAREIT, E&G DIMAX
Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Berlin-Bremen, Frankfurt
(Prime Standard), Dusseldorf;
Freiverkehr in Hamburg, Munchen, Stuttgart
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