GLL, DIFA Acquire Paris Office Building

PARIS-GLL Real Estate Partners GmbH of Munich and Hamburg-based DIFA Deutsche Immobilien Fonds AG have created a 50-50 joint venture that has acquired a newly-constructed, 235,000-sf office building here at 92 Avenue de France. Located in the rapidly developing Parisian business district on the Left Bank of the Seine, the property is 94% let on a long-term lease to Réseau Ferré de France, the organization responsible for the property and infrastructure of the French national railroad system.

GLL’s Office Fund, on behalf of several European insurance companies, bought the entire property in October 2003 from Generali Assurance Vie France, the fourth largest insurer in France. GLL then began looking for a partner to structure a joint venture, specifically targeting German open-ended funds. DIFA purchased 92, Avenue de France for its open-ended real estate funds DIFA-Fonds Nr. 1.

The joint venture is the first of its DIFA, as it makes use of a recent amendment in the German investment law, which permits open-ended real estate funds to take non-controlling stakes in property companies. DIFA, which had been exploring corporate acquisitions and participations with their advisers in France, already own France Avenue, a development project close to 92 avenue de France.