(Save the date: RealShare New York comes to the Grand Hyatt, New York, NY, October 9.)
NEW YORK CITY-Furthering the company's expansion into Ireland, Beverly Hills, CA-based Kennedy Wilson and the European commercial real estate group at Deutsche Bank AG have finalized an acquisition for an Irish loan portfolio with an unpaid principal balance of $449 million, according to a statement from KW.
While both Deutsche and Kennedy Wilson declined to comment further to GlobeSt.com about the deal, Kennedy Wilson said in a statement that the properties are predominately commercial real estate assets across a mixture of asset classes, with the majority located in Dublin. In addition, consensual workouts are in progress in respect of a majority of the assets.
The acquisition comes just one month after Kennedy Wilson announced a “framework” between a global financial institution targeting $2.5 billion of performing and non-performing loans secured by commercial real estate in Europe. During that time, Mary Ricks, president and CEO of Kennedy Wilson Europe, stated that the company believes the Eurozone banking sector will “present many attractive opportunities in the property space” within the United Kingdom and Ireland. Now, being Kennedy's and Deutsche's first partnership since the original announcement, she said in a statement released today that the acquisition is “great win for the company” and a reflection of Deutsche’s “robust track record” as well as the strength of Kennedy Wilson’s local presence in Ireland. The company already has existing operating platforms in London and Dublin.
“We are seeing signs of recovery in the Irish property market,” Ricks adds. “Investor confidence is returning and there is a good macroeconomic recovery story in Ireland that is starting to play out.”
The transaction marks yet another partnership for Kennedy Wilson and Deutsche. In the past, the team has worked together on several deals, including the acquisition of 901 Fifth Ave. in downtown Seattle for $300 million and the $51 million buy of the Fowler Apartment Portfolio in Larkspur, CA. Deutsche also provided debt toward Kennedy’s acquisition of the 167-unit Santee Village in Los Angeles.
Gibson Dunn’s London office as well as Dublin-based William Fry provided legal advice on the acquisition. Both Kennedy Wilson and Deutsche Bank declined to comment to GlobeSt.com for this article.
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