DLA Piper has advised Aareal Bank AG on the provision of a €530 million senior financing for the acquisition of a €1.1 billion pan-European office portfolio by NorthStar Realty Finance Corp., a real estate investment trust that is headquartered in New York. Aareal Bank acted as Arranger, Agent and Sole Underwriter for the €530 million seven-year senior facility.

The office portfolio is comprised of eleven office buildings in top cities in seven of Europe's major markets, namely in Brussels, Paris, Hamburg, Milan, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Gothenburg and London with a gross leasable area of around 186,000 square meters. All buildings benefit from a well-diversified mix of market leading tenants.

Aareal Bank Group, headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany, is one of the leading international property specialists. It is represented across three continents: in Europe, North America, and in Asia. Aareal Bank AG, whose shares are included in Deutsche Börse's MDAX index, is the Group's parent entity. It manages the various entities organised in the Group's two business segments: Structured Property Financing and Consulting/Services.

The pan-European cross-practice lawyers' team was led by DLA Piper partner Helen Dyer, legal director James Kilgour (both Finance & Projects, London) and Counsel Dr. Torsten Pokropp (Finance & Projects, Frankfurt). The team included lawyers from Finance & Projects, Real Estate, Corporate, Tax and Litigation & Regulatory.