Commerz Real places Amprion shares acquired on a temporary basis in full with institutional investors
→ Final measure in course of 74.9 per cent participation in transmission system operator
→ Investment volume of 700 million euros
→ Investment volume of 700 million euros
In the course of the consortium participation in the transmission system operator Amprion, Commerz Real has placed shares with a volume of 120 million euros – which were initially taken onto its own books – in full with institutional investors. The shares to the value of 100 million euros held indirectly by RWE, the former sole owner of Amprion, through the consortium have also been transferred by Commerz Real to institutional investors. Thus 74.9 per cent of the Amprion capital is now in the ownership of the investor consortium, whose members include major institutional investors from the areas of insurance companies, benefit and pension funds, as well as church insurance institutions.
„From the very outset we were convinced that this transaction – whose form is unique in Germany to date – would meet with considerable interest on the part of institutional investors. Demand then did indeed exceed supply by a considerable amount,“
says Michael Bücker, Chief Executive Officer of Commerz Real AG.
„Two thirds of the consortium volume had already been contracted when the transaction was announced in July 2011. The fact that we were able to complete the placement of the remaining shares within the space of a few months has not only confirmed our positive appraisal of the market, but also clearly underlined the structuring and placement strengths of Commerz Real in this segment.“
The purchase price for the stake of 74.9 per cent in Amprion amounted to some 700 million euros. With this infrastructure fund Commerz Real has opened up a new asset class for its institutional investors.
„The supergrid operated by Amprion is to be developed further so as to guarantee uninterruptible operation, as well as to connect up new consumers and customers. As a consequence there is the need for extensive investment; a solid long-term basis for this has been established with the transfer to a group of investors with considerable financial wherewithal,“
explains Erich Seeger, the member of the board of Commerz Real AG responsible, among other things, for the conception and marketing of institutional investment products.
„Regulated infrastructure assets are of particular interest for institutional investors, and especially so in the current market environment, due to their stable cash flows and low correlation to other asset classes. This is why we are already working on a successor product.“
On the Amprion participation
Amprion GmbH is a significant transmission system operator in Europe and operates a supergrid in Germany with a length of 11,000 kilometers. More than 27 million people are supplied with electricity through the Amprion network, from Lower Saxony to the Alps. Together with a group of institutional investors Commerz Real has assumed 74.9 percent of the participation in Amprion from RWE. The purchase took place through the legal form of a GmbH & Co. KG, which is customary for a closed fund. The investors and Commerz Real are participating in this company as limited partners. The general partner of the company is M31 Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH.
On Commerz Real
Commerz Real is a fully-owned subsidiary of Commerz Bank AG with more than 40 years of market experience and approximately 37 billion Euros in assets under management. The company combines comprehensive know-how in asset management and a broad-based structuring expertise to deliver its signature range of services: Fund products focused on tangibles ensure a stable long-term asset accumulation, while tailored financing concepts create new investment margins. The company’s investment products include open-ended real estate funds, specialised real estate funds, and closed-end funds for real estate, aviation, renewable energy, and ships. Among its spectrum of financing products are planning, structuring, constructing and financing services in the context of commercial real estate and investment solutions for a wide variety of asset classes. Moreover, Commerz Real offers tailored equipment leasing concepts in its role as leasing company of Commerzbank Group..
