The deal, which was not binding until after the EU referendum, will come as a welcome injection of confidence to the commercial property market which has seen a number of high profile investment deals waver since 24 June.
Commercial Property Market
Amundi has bought the 155,000 sq m (1.66m sq ft) portfolio, which comprises five core office properties in France, Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Three of the portfolio’s properties are located in Paris, including the 46-storey Tour Egee in the La Defense region of Paris, 53 Quai D’Orsay on the bank of the Seine near the French parliament and the 21,466 sq m Le Stadium, which completed in 2003.
The other properties include Espace Petrusse – ArcelorMittal’s 20,224 sq m Luxembourg headquarters – and the 17-storey PwC Tower in Rotterdam.
Bloomberg reported that the French real estate fund manager agreed exclusivity on the deal in May, but the final deadline for Amundi’s binding offer was set for after the referendum.
The deal comes as other European fund managers put high-profile acquisitions on ice. Union Investment said immediately after the UK voted to leave the EU that it had abandoned three major property acquisitions in Europe: one in each of London, Brussels and Paris. However, Union has denied reports since then that it has walked away from a £500m purchase of Cannon Place in the City of London, telling CoStar News: “We had no option on this building so we are not “stepping back” from it as a result of the “Leave”referendum.”
