(London) Katten Muchin Rosenman UK LLP (Katten) advised Areim AB (Areim) in its first acquisition in Europe with joint venture partner VGP NV (VGP).
A Katten team led by Financial Markets and Funds (FMF) Partner Edward Tran initially advised the Swedish asset manager Areim in connection with the establishment of a 50-50 joint venture with publicly listed European logistics real estate company VGP, which was completed in December 2023.
The joint venture focuses on investments in prime logistics and targets €1.5 billion in gross asset value, investing exclusively in key European markets, including France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
This acquisition, which marks the first for the joint venture, consists of 17 assets in 10 different logistics parks across Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The total area amounts to 450,000 square meters of gross lettable area and is fully let.
The financing of Areim's share in the joint venture comes from a recently closed fund, Areim Pan-European Logistic Fund, which was closed with €500 million in committed capital raised from international institutional capital.
Working alongside Tran on the transaction were Katten Corporate Partner Oliver Williams, FMF Partners Neil Robson and Christian Hennion, Transactional Tax Planning Partner Charlotte Sallabank and Real Estate Partner Gavin Vollans. The Katten team included Corporate Associates Alex Potten and Omar Malek, FMF Senior Associate Christopher Collins and Associate Ciara McBrien, Real Estate Senior Associate Rhodri Preece, Transactional Tax Planning Associate Christy Wilson and Intellectual Property Senior Associate Sarah Simpson.
Commenting on the deal, Tran said, "We are delighted to have been able to assist Areim with the joint venture's first acquisition, and we look forward to watching the growing success of Areim and VGP over the coming years."
