Office Portfolio Sells for $161M

MILAN-GE Real Estate Italy has acquired four office buildings in Italy for $160.7 million. The 542,505-sf portfolio was acquired from Europa Immobiliare N.1, a real estate fund managed by Vegagest S.G.R. Spa.

Three of the office buildings are located in Parco dei Medici, an office district in Rome. The other building is located in Garibaldi Repubblica, an office and residential district in Milan.

The three buildings in Rome are leased primarily to Wind and ENEL. The Milan property is leased primarily to Regione Lombardia. Marcelo Horcel, managing director of GE Real Estate Italy says the investment marks the company’s return to independent investing in the Rome and Milan office markets.

“These two locations offer an excellent risk-return balance for the combination of prime tenants and quality locations,” Horcel says. “Rome’s Parco dei Medici and the Milan’s Garibaldi district are both expected to attract more and more demand for office space due to the existing surrounding new developments.”

This is the third transaction for GE Real Estate Italy over the last two months. Earlier this month, it made a $65.9-million investment in a closed-end investment fund named Petrarca. In November, the company agreed to acquire the Primavera retail mall in Rome from Aareal Italy Fund for approximately $79 million. The 132,400-sf mall is located in the Viale Della Primavera in the center of Rome, and comprises 45 stores on two floors. The anchor tenants are supermarket operator SMA and electronics superstore operator MediaWorld, which each occupy 27,000 sf.