Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co has acquired its first asset in France, the 27,000m² River Plaza office building in Asnieres-sur-Seine, Paris, from funds managed by Aberdeen Asset Management Deutschland.
The building has been bought for KKR affiliates and investors that it advises, including KKR Financial Holdings.
KKR bought River Plaza in a joint venture with Paris-based Cleaveland, which will manage the asset. The acquisition was financed by Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
German fund manager Degi, now part of the Aberdeen stable, bought River Plaza for €170m in early 2008 from Compagnie La Lucette, a French REIT run by Morgan Stanley.
Guillaume Cassou, a director of KKR London and Head of the KKR Europe Real Estate team, said: “This investment represents KKR’s first property acquisition in France. River Plaza is a great building that offers high-quality space to tenants. We are pleased to be working with Cleaveland as joint venture partners and we look forward to doing more deals in France and across Europe.”
KKR was advised by Gide Loyrette Nouel, Freshfields, Deloitte and Wargny Katz. Helaba was advised GGSM and Allez & Associes.
Former PRUPIM chairman Martin Moore was appointed as a senior adviser at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co in June this year and in August KKR acquired a portfolio of three warehouses in the UK backed by a €92m loan from pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank.
