Diamond and mining magnate Beny Steinmetz is expanding his real estate business. BSG Real Estate Ltd., a unit of BSG Investments Ltd. has established a joint venture with Austria's Signa Holding GmbH unit Signa Prime Selection AG, and together they have acquired commercial properties in Germany for €1.1 billion.
The companies established the joint venture in December 2012, and stated that it obtained merger-control approval in Germany on the January 9 and that it forms part of their long-term strategy to have a presence in the growing German market. The companies stated that the joint venture has acquired 16 Karstadt department stores, including its landmark Berlin store, KaDeWe, from Highstreet (a joint venture between Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank unit REEFF, and other companies). The companies added that properties previously acquired by Signa, including the Munich department store, Oberpolliger, are part of the joint venture, and that the combined assets, located in German city centers, are worth more than €2 billion.
Signa Holding, founded by René Benko 13 years ago, owns more than €5.5 billion worth of properties through its five business units.
BSG Real Estate has been an investor and developer for 20 years in the residential, commercial and retail sectors in North America, Western and Eastern Europe.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 27, 2013
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