Milan, February 28, 2020 – Ardian, a world leading private investment house, has signed an agreement with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena for the acquisition of a portfolio composed of 28 properties, owned by the MPS Group. The agreement concludes a competitive process started in July 2019. This follows a period of exclusivity granted to Ardian on February 10.

The portfolio consists of 28 buildings primarily intended for office use mostly located across Milan, Rome, Florence and Padua. The total commercial area spans across approximately 90,000m².

Notably, the portfolio includes five historical buildings which carry unique historical value and are considered artistically and architecturally significant. Between them they represent most of the value of the entire portfolio. Among these buildings is the Bank’s historic headquarters in Milan in Via Santa Margherita, a few steps from Piazza della Scala. The façade on Piazza Ferrari was designed by prominent architect, designer and urban planner Luigi Caccia Dominioni. Palazzo Alinari in the historical centre of Florence and late 19th century building in the famous Via del Corso in Rome that connects Piazza Venezia to Piazza del Popolo.

According with Ardian’s strategy, these five prestigious buildings will be the subject of redevelopment which will aim to create office and retail space.

In the coming weeks, Banca MPS and Ardian will enter into a Preliminary Sale and Purchase Agreement. The completion of the planned acquisition, for most properties, will be complete by the second half of 2020.

Rodolfo Petrosino, Senior Managing Director Southern Europe of Ardian Real Estate, commented: “We are very pleased about the acquisition of this significant real estate portfolio, boasting some unique trophy assets. Our investments in Italy, in the real estate sector, now rise to around €1 billion and positions us among the most active players in the Italian market. This is largely due to the skills and experience of our local team and Ardian’s international platform. We have already made significant investments in Italy and we will continue to select promising opportunities in the core-plus and value-added real estate segment”.

Advisors for Ardian were NCTM for the legal, fiscal and administrative part, Studio Gattai, Minoli, Agostinelli Partners and Studio Legale Gattamelata e Associati for the administrative due diligence and REAAS for the technical and environmental due diligence.

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$96bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base. Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world.
Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 640 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of around 1,000 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt

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