Italian insurance giant Generali has bought the 700,000m² Parcolog logistics portfolio from Blackstone for around €200m (£136m).
The portfolio, which was held by a joint venture between Blackstone (66%) and Bouygues Construction (33%), includes logistics property in Paris, Lille, Bordeaux and Metz, and some development projects.
The initial yield on the transaction was around 7%, but it is unclear whether this figure includes the price paid for the potential development sites.
Generali did not make the most competitive bid in terms of price, but it secured the portfolio because it offered the best fiscal and legal arrangements.
The deal was organised by Rothschild.
The second best bid came from French-based SIIC Gecina.
International and domestic investors piled €17.5bn (£11.9bn) into France last year, representing a 45% increase since 2004, according to research by Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker.
The study reveals that 54% of total investment in France was accounted for by deals worth €100m (£68m) or more, while 72% of all deals were valued at over €50m (£34m).
Cross-border investors accounted for 56% of vendors, but 44% of total assets, worth €7.6bn (£5.1bn), were sold by French institutions.
US institutions, which sold €6bn (£4bn) of assets in 2005, represented 35% of vendors. German open-ended funds, which sold assets of €1.8bn (£1.2bn) across France, accounted for 10% of vendors.
US investors bought €3bn (£2.04bn) of assets in France in the year, representing 22% of investors.
Olivier Gérard, CWHB’s head of capital markets, predicted that a rise in Australian investment would be a key trend for 2006.
References: EGi News 03/02/06
