German real estate group Corpus Sireo nears sale - sources
FRANKFURT, May 16 (Reuters) - German real estate group Corpus Sireo, which manages offices for clients such as Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Cerberus and Brookfield, has attracted several bids and expects a sale to be decided in July, people familiar with the matter said.
The owners of Corpus Sireo - savings banks in Cologne, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt - have asked for binding offers by an end-June deadline in a two-part deal potentially worth more than 600 million euros ($823 million), the sources said.
Germany's real estate sector has seen a string of deals, with investors attracted by the reliable income stream that property projects typically offer, as well as higher yields than German sovereign bonds. They are also betting on rising property prices in Europe's largest economy.
Last month, Austria's Immofinanz spun off its German arm Buwog into a separate company. In February, Deutsche Annington bought residential units worth 1.4 billion euros from Blackstone and Round Hill Capital. And in 2013, GSW and Deutsche Wohnen merged to create Germany's No. 2 real estate company.
The suitors for Corpus Sireo's real estate asset management business, which manages assets worth 16.5 billion euros, include CBRE Group, CR Investment Management and Jones Lang LaSalle, the sources said, adding initially interested groups such as Patrizia and Wisag had dropped out.
The sellers are hoping to see the real estate asset management business valued at up to 300 million euros, whereas buyers may be willing to pay only 200 million, two sources said.
In 2013, the business posted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of 41 million euros. Its peers trade at an average multiple of 16 times their expected earning.
Separately, residential property held by Corpus Sireo is being sold and will likely fetch a multiple of 15-16 times its annual rental income of more than 20 million euros, the sources added. The asset has caught the interest of several groups specialising in residential property, the sources said.
Corpus Sireo has 560 staff at eleven locations in Germany and Luxembourg, and also offers property brokerage and development.
The company, its owners, the bidders and Lazard, which is organising the transaction, all declined to comment.
($1 = 0.7291 Euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Mark Potter)
