Deutsche Bank Real Estate Unit May Sell Properties
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Deutsche Bank AG’s real-estate investment unit may sell some properties as it prepares to reopen a frozen fund after revaluing its assets.
The company is taking “all necessary steps for the re-launch of the fund,” said Tim-Oliver Ambrosius, a spokesman for the unit, DB Real Estate Investment GmbH. That “includes the possible sale of property” to help the company cover potential withdrawals.
Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest bank, closed its Grundbesitz-invest fund in December to revalue its assets as investors withdrew money amid concern about its performance.The lender has been criticized by politicians and competitors for freezing the fund rather than allowing investors to make withdrawals.
DB Real Estate may try to raise about $1.2 billion from property sales, the Estates Gazette reported on January 5, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. Ambrosius declined to comment on the value of any potential property sales.
The Grundbesitz-invest fund on December 31 had 5.67 billion euros in assets,including 697 million euros in liquid assets, according to information on the company’s Web site. The company expects the revaluation to be completed by February,and it will then decide when to reopen the fund, which has invested in 130 German and European properties.
The German company has already sold some properties to raise money as investors pulled a net 915.4 million euros in the first 10 months of 2005. The fund’s return last year was 1.77%, according to Bloomberg data. The Frankfurt-based bank has said it plans to compensate consumers who invested in the fund.
