DGAP-News: Prime Office AG plans IPO in the summer of 2011
(firmenpresse) - DGAP-News: Prime Office AG / Key word(s): IPO
Prime Office AG plans IPO in the summer of 2011
23.05.2011 / 07:30
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR
INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN.
PRESS RELEASE
Prime Office AG plans IPO in the summer of 2011
- Specialist for prime office properties in Germany targets listing in
the prime standard of the Frankfurt Stock exchange and on the Munich
stock exchange.
- Stable cash flows based on high occupancy levels and high
credit-quality tenants
- Upside potentials of the existing portfolio and growth opportunities
through expansion of the property portfolio
- Net issuance proceeds from the IPO are designed to strengthen the
capital structure and expand the property portfolio.
- Future transformation of the company into a REIT joint stock company
after the successful IPO envisaged
Munich, 23 May 2011. Prime Office AG ('Prime Office'), a leading property
firm focusing on investments in prime office properties in Germany as well
as their facility and property management, is preparing its IPO. The
property joint stock company is registered as a pre-REIT and plans to list
its shares on the regulated market (prime standard) of the Frankfurt stock
exchange and the Munich stock exchange in the summer of 2011. UniCredit
Bank and Berenberg Bank will act as joint global co-ordinators and joint
book runners. Kempen&Co and Macquarie have been mandated as co-lead
managers.
As part of the IPO, Prime Office also plans to increase capital by issuing
new shares. The size of the capital increase will be determined immediately
before the IPO. The net issuance proceeds from the IPO of Prime Office are
designed to strengthen the capital base required to build a REIT compliant
financing structure and to expand the property portfolio via targeted
acquisitions of prime office properties in major German office locations.
The IPO will also afford the existing shareholders of Prime Office, the
investors in ten closed-end funds, with an opportunity to place some of
their shares. Immediately after the completion of the planned IPO, Prime
Office will seek to obtain REIT status and subsequently transform into a
REIT joint stock company.
A focused portfolio of high quality office properties in major cities and
conurbations across Germany
The Prime Office portfolio currently consists of 14 office properties with
a total usable area of approximately 385,000 square metres located in major
German cities and conurbations. According to a valuation performed by the
property surveyor CB Richard Ellis, the 14 properties had a total market
value of 970 million Euros as of 31 March 2011. The property portfolio of
Prime Office includes modern office properties in premium locations with an
attractive architecture and high building quality. Two properties have been
certified as green buildings, including the 'SZ Tower', the headquarters of
the Süddeutsche publishing house in Munich, which has been awarded as the
first office building in Germany with the internationally recognised LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certificate. As Prime
Office places strong emphasis on energy efficiency and environmental as
well as health aspects within its portfolio, green buildings become
increasingly important for the company. Its portfolio is well diversified
from a regional perspective: ten buildings are located in major office
locations across Germany, for instance in the metropolitan regions of
Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart . The
remaining properties are located in Darmstadt, Heilbronn and Nürnberg.
Stable cash flows based on high occupancy levels and high credit-quality
tenants
Thanks to the attractiveness and quality of the property portfolio, Prime
Office has consistently achieved high occupancy levels and concluded
long-term leases with high credit-quality tenants. As of 31 March 2011, the
portfolio had an occupancy level of 99.7 percent, the weighted average
lease term was 6.82 years. Tenants of Prime Office include major companies
across several public and private sectors such as Generalmietgesellschaft
der Deutsche Telekom AG, BMW AG, HOCHTIEF AG, Süddeutscher Verlag GmbH and
the State Office for Remunerations and Pensions of the federal state of
Baden-Württemberg. Some buildings owned by Prime Office are home to group
or German headquarters of major companies. Thanks to its high
credit-quality tenants, Prime Office has generated stable cash flows from
rental income even in the recent difficult market environment and has never
suffered rent delinquencies since its foundation in 2007.
Strong lease-up and acquisition track record
Prime Office has a strong track record of acquiring individual properties
in 'off market' transactions and concluding attractive leases for its
portfolio. Thus, all properties held in the current portfolio were bought
in 'off market' transactions, i.e. outside of bidding contests or
invitations to tender. In addition, Prime Office has a consistent history
of successfully renting portfolio properties. In the past, existing leases
were often extended early or spaces were re-let sufficiently in advance of
the termination of existing leases. These two facts contributed greatly to
the consistently high occupancy levels, the long average lease term and the
stable cash flows.
'Prime Office seeks to generate stable long-term rental income using a
return-oriented approach to managing the existing office real estate
portfolio based on broad property, location and tenant diversification and
to consistently increase rental income by purchasing suitable individual
properties. Thanks to the planned IPO, we will be able to optimise our
financing structure, accelerate growth via selected acquisitions and
increase property values through lease extensions', says Claus Hermuth, CEO
of Prime Office AG.
Upside potential of portfolio holdings
Prime Office plans to continue exploiting value potential in its existing
portfolio through active asset and portfolio management, by re-letting and
extending leases and by refurbishing and modernising selected properties.
In addition, the company expects the current portfolio to benefit from the
development of the German office property market particularly in the
locations relevant to Prime Office.
Growth opportunities from ongoing portfolio expansion
In order to accelerate the company's growth, Prime Office plans to use a
portion of the net issuance proceeds from the planned IPO to expand its
property portfolio by selectively acquiring high quality office properties.
This approach will be based on a distinct acquisition strategy with
specific investment criteria and a clear focus on prime office properties
in nine major German office locations and other large German cities with
strong economic fundamentals. The acquisition strategy targets individual
office properties with an attractive architecture and high building quality
properties that qualify as green buildings or to a lesser extend properties
offering opportunities for value increases that can be exploited for
instance by reducing vacancy rates, refurbishing or repositioning. To
achieve this goal of consistently expanding the portfolio, the company
intends to leverage the network established through a large number of
successfully completed projects as well as the personal contacts and the
long-standing experience of its board, its employees and its supervisory
board in the German office property market. The company expects to leverage
this outstanding access to prospective buyers, tenants and sellers in order
to further benefit from its access to 'off market' transactions. In
implementing the acquisition strategy, Prime Office also benefits from its
efficient and lean internal asset management structures enabling it to add
new properties to the existing portfolio without meaningfully increasing
fixed costs for the company.
Transformation into a tax-privileged REIT joint stock company
Prime Office already complies with certain requirements for a REIT joint
stock company under REITG and has been registered with the Federal Tax
Authorities as a pre-REIT joint stock company since June 2007. After its
successful IPO, the company expects to transform immediately into a REIT
joint stock company and benefit from the related tax privileges for German
REIT joint stock companies (exemption from business and corporate tax). The
company will therefore seek to strengthen its balance sheet structure and
reduce leverage in order to meet the criteria for registration as a REIT
joint stock company. 'We want to become a leading specialised REIT for
prime office properties in Germany', says Claus Hermuth, CEO of Prime
Office AG.
Contact
Prime Office AG
Richard Berg
Director Investor Relations / Corporate Communications
Hopfenstraße 6
80335 Munich
Telephone +49. 89. 710 40 90 40
Facsimile +49. 89. 710 40 90 99
Email richard.berg(at)prime-office.de
About Prime Office AG
Prime Office AG ('Prime Office') is a leading property firm focusing on
investments in high quality office buildings in Germany as well as their
facility and property management. The company's portfolio consists of 14
office properties in central locations across major cities and conurbations
in Western Germany with a total useable area of approximately 385,000
square metres. According to a valuation performed by the property surveyor
CB Richard Ellis, the 14 properties had a total market value of 970 million
Euros as at 31 March 2011. The property portfolio of Prime Office
exclusively consists of individual buildings in premium locations. All
holdings are select modern office properties with an attractive
architecture and high building quality. The portfolio is broadly
diversified across locations and tenants. The properties are rented
long-term to high credit-quality tenants. Prime Office AG intends to
generate stable long-term rental income using a return-oriented approach of
managing the existing portfolio based on broad property, location and
tenant diversification. Rental income is also expected to grow consistently
through the addition of suitable individual properties. The company plans
to become a leading specialised REIT for prime office properties in
Germany.
For additional information on Prime Office AG please visit us in the
Internet on: www.prime-office.de
Disclaimer
This press release is not a prospectus and, to the extent that it may
constitute an advertisement, does not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to purchase the shares or other securities of
Prime Office AG. Subject to the approval of the German Federal Financial
Supervisory Authority (BaFin), it is anticipated that a prospectus will be
published on June 7, 2011 and investors will be able to obtain a free copy
from Prime Office AG (Hopfenstraße 6, 80335 München) or on the website
www.prime-office.com and from the Joint Global Coordinators.
This release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States of
America. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of
America absent registration or an exemption from registration under the
U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act'). Any public
offering of securities to be made in the United States of America would be
made by means of a prospectus that could be obtained from Prime Office AG
and that would contain detailed information about the company and
management, as well as financial statements. There will be no public offer
of the securities in the United States of America.
Subject to certain exceptions, the securities referred to herein may not be
offered or sold in Australia, Canada or Japan or to, or for the account or
benefit of, any national, resident or citizen of Australia, Canada or
Japan.
End of Corporate News
---------------------------------------------------------------------
23.05.2011 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
DGAP's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de
---------------------------------------------------------------------
125727 23.05.2011
Datum: 23.05.2011 - 07:30 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 34166
Anzahl Zeichen: 0
contact information:
Kategorie:
Business News
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 258 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"DGAP-News: Prime Office AG plans IPO in the summer of 2011"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Prime Office AG (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
