APB sells 600,000 m2 fund to ING, which will split the assets between its Dutch office fund and its newly created Real Estate Office Fund Netherlands
ING Real Estate has bought the KFN office fund from Dutch pension fund ABP in a €1.6bn deal.
The KFN portfolio, which consists of 600,000 m2 of Dutch office space, will be split and the assets will be transferred to two funds. ING’s Dutch office fund will acquire 228,226 m2, while 367,861 m2 will be transferred to a newly created fund, the Real Estate Office Fund Netherlands (REOFN).
The deal underscores ING Real Estate’s strong commitment to its home market (see country survey, page 33). ING beat strong competition from Tishman Speyer and Belgian’s Cofinimmo. ING and ABP declined to provide yield and net asset value data.
ABP received €600m in cash and a €300m stake in ING’s Dutch office fund. In addition, ABP and ING will each own a €65m stake in the REOFN fund. ABP will repay €650m of debt. ING and ABP plan to sell the assets in the REOFN fund over the next two to three years after having worked them. The fund aims for a return of more than 12%.
ING Real Estate’s finance department financed most of the deal, with Dutch bank FGH also providing finance.
ING Real Estate’s Dutch office fund will keep all the offices in the Randstad – the area between Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague – and assets near a main railway station.
The biggest asset going into the Dutch office fund is the 120,000 m2 World Trade Centre on the Zuidas in Amsterdam. ING already owned a 50% stake in the asset, which will now account for 20% of the Dutch office fund’s value.
As part of the deal, ING Real Estate has taken on all 44 KFN employees. KFN chief executive Paul Vismans and chief operating officer Frank Hendriksen have resigned.
