Portakabin Limited, part of the Shepherd Group, has announced the acquisition of OECON Mobilraum GmbH, a leading German Mittelstand company in the field of modular buildings, and of its subsidiary OECON Produktions GmbH. OECON is a manufacturer and distributor of modular buildings in Germany, having built up an enviable reputation within the modular industry over the last 20 years.
Orrick advised an affiliate of Swiss real estate investment firm Gold Tree on the purchase of the headquarters of prominent German media company SKY Deutschland AG in Unterfohring near Munich from Commerz Real AG in a transaction worth €50 million. Commerz Real had developed the building under a hereditary building right agreement, while ownership of the land the office property was constructed on had remained with the township of Unterfohring.
International law firm SJ Berwin has advised long standing client British Land on Its agreement with the City of London Corporation for the redevelopment of the Shoreditch Estate E1.
The Estate comprises three sites covering two acres fronting onto Shoreditch High Street and Norton Folgate immediately to the north of Spitalfields and the core City of London market. The sites have potential for office, retail and residential accommodation in a mix of new, retained and refurbished buildings.
Ashurst advised the Austrian conwert Immobilien Invest SE ("conwert") on the acquisition of an extensive portfolio of residential properties in Germany. The purchase price for the portfolio comprising 4,016 units and a size of 265,815 m² amounts to c. €179 million, including planned investments in the amount of €32.9 million. The properties are mainly located in Berlin, Leipzig and North Rhine-Westphalia. The seller of the portfolio is GE Capital Real Estate Deutschland, a division of General Electric. The closing of the transaction is scheduled for the third quarter of 2013.
International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised McCarthy & Stone, the UK’s leading retirement homes developer, on its successful rights issue and refinancing of its existing liabilities, totalling £518.9m. The transaction significantly reduces the Company’s debt by £350m.
DLA Piper has advised Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers on the purchase of 40 Gracechurch Street, a Grade A office building in the City, for £94 million. Cornerstone were acting on behalf of a separate account client.
The transaction was effected by way of a corporate sale of a special purchase vehicle and involved a team of lawyers from DLA's offices in the UK and US.
Paul, Weiss client The Lightstone Group, through its affiliate Paragon Retail, successfully completed a joint venture with Simon Property Group, the largest publicly traded REIT, to develop Eagan Premium Outlets, a retail outlet center in Eagan, Minnesota, outside Minneapolis.
The Paul Weiss team included real estate partner Peter Fisch; and tax partner Jeffrey Samuels.
Paul, Weiss client SL Green Realty Corp., a NYSE listed REIT and the largest owner of office space in Manhattan, completed the sale of 333 West 34th Street, a 350,000-square foot office building located between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, to American Realty Capital.
The Paul, Weiss team representing SL Green included real estate partner Peter Fisch.
McDermott Will & Emery represented Irving Oil, a privately owned regional energy and marketing company that owns and operates Canada’s largest refinery, in forming a joint venture with TransCanada to develop and construct the proposed $300 million Canaport Energy East Marine Terminal at Irving Canaport in Saint John, New Brunswick. Irving Oil will operate the Canaport Energy East Marine Terminal, which will connect the proposed $12 billion Energy East Pipeline project recently announced by TransCanada to an ice-free, deep water port.
Squire Sanders has advised PATRIZIA Immobilien AG on the acquisition of a portfolio of 86 German retail properties for institutional investors, in a deal worth €178 million. The properties have been acquired within the context of a structured bidding process which was won by PATRIZIA and which relates to the insolvency assets of DEIKON GmbH i. L.