LONDON, March 31, 2011 – An affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. (“Cerberus”) announced today the acquisition of a real estate portfolio consisting of 45 Metro Cash & Carry properties in Germany from the three major shareholders of Metro AG, Franz Haniel & Cie, GmbH, Otto Beisheim and the Schmidt-Ruthenbeck family. The portfolio includes 42 Metro Cash & Carry wholesale-retail properties and three other properties. The properties consist of 900,000 square meters of rentable space and are located in urban centers throughout Germany.
The transaction is one of the largest property acquisitions in Germany since 2007 and is Cerberus’ third significant property transaction in three different European countries in the past five months. In November 2010, Cerberus acquired 97 bank branches of Spanish bank Caja Madrid. Earlier this month, Cerberus acquired and restructured the senior debt of Maxim Business Park in Glasgow, Scotland. Cerberus has been an active investor in German real estate since 2003. The Metro Cash & Carry portfolio adds to Cerberus’ existing 100 German high street retail assets.
Lee Millstein, Senior Managing Director at Cerberus, stated: “European real estate is a key focus for Cerberus, and we believe that there are significant opportunities in this market. Cerberus is pleased to add this investment to its high-quality portfolio of German properties. Metro is one of the world’s preeminent retailers, and German retail is an especially attractive sector within the European property markets. These assets are excellent retail properties in strong locations. We are confident that the real estate investment agreement will benefit all parties and support Metro’s long-term objectives.”
Metro Cash & Carry is the leading wholesale-retail company in Germany. The acquired properties account for a significant part of Metro Cash & Carry’s retail locations in Germany. This acquisition will have no effect on Metro Cash & Carry’s operations, as all of the properties have long-term leases. The company is part of the METRO GROUP, one of the world’s largest and most international retailing companies. The shareholding of the three owner family offices in Metro AG remains unaffected by this transaction.
Cerberus has secured approximately €500 million in financing for the Metro properties from a consortium of lenders coordinated by Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking and Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, and also including ING, NATIXIS, pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank and Banco Santander. Kuna & Co. KG. served as Cerberus’ financial advisor on the transaction. Ashurst LLP and Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP provided legal counsel to Cerberus. Advisors to the sellers were PwC as M&A lead advisor and Orrick Hölters Elsing as legal advisors. Gleiss Lutz served as legal advisors to the consortium of lenders.
About Cerberus Capital Management, L.P.
Established in 1992, Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., together with its affiliates, is one of the world’s leading private investment firms, with approximately $23 billion under management. Through its team of investment and operations professionals, Cerberus specializes in providing both financial resources and operational expertise to help transform undervalued companies into industry leaders for long-term success and value creation.
Cerberus is headquartered in New York City with affiliate and/or advisory offices in the US, Europe and Asia.
About Metro Cash & Carry
Metro Cash & Carry operates 117 wholesale stores with around 15,000 employees in Germany. At the international level Metro Cash & Carry is active in 30 countries with around 700 stores. METRO GROUP is one of the largest and most international retailing companies. In 2010 the Group reached sales of around €67 billion. The company has a headcount of some 283,000 employees and operates more than 2,100 stores in 33 countries. The Group’s performance is based on the strength of its sales brands which operate independently in their respective market segment: Metro/Makro Cash & Carry – the international leader in self-service wholesale, Real hypermarkets, Media Markt and Saturn – European market leader in consumer electronics retailing, and Galeria Kaufhof department stores. More information at: www.metrogroup.de.
Contacts:
Alex Brown or Bronwyn Daly
Weber Shandwick
+44 (0) 207-067-0732 or +44 (0) 207-067-0729
Cerberus Media Line
(212) 891-1558
