Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund forms joint venture with Foncière des Régions for €533m purchase of 60-building portfolio from French energy group EDF
The Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund (MSREF) has bought a €533m (FFr3.5bn) portfolio in France’s largest corporate outsourcing deal.
In a joint venture with Foncière des Régions, the real estate subsidiary of Batipart Group, MSREF has acquired a 60-building portfolio from French energy group Electricité de France (EDF). The portfolio comprises 500,000m2 of EDF-occupied office buildings in the Greater Paris region and secondary cities across France.
MSREF and Foncière des Regions have set up a joint venture company, Bati Gestion d’Actifs (BGA), to manage the contract and provide advice and services to French corporates seeking to outsource real estate portfolios.
EDF and BGA will jointly manage the portfolio. EDF will be responsible for facilities management and BGA will be the overall asset manager.
Jay Henry, head of the European Real Estate Investing Group at Morgan Stanley, said France was now emerging as a strong presence in the corporate outsourcing market. With most of the properties on standard French leases, the upside is expected to come from the management of the portfolio as well as opportunities arising from EDF’s occupation.
Foncière des Régions owns more than €303m (FF2bn) of assets throughout France and offers asset management services.
MSREF has acquired more than $20bn of property assets since 1990. In Europe, MSREF’s investment portfolio is worth more than $11bn, with investments in the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain and Sweden.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley launched the sixth securitisation in its rolling series of commercial mortgage-backed securities. The loans in the £445m issue are secured mainly on UK commercial properties.
