Mubasher: Investcorp announced that its European real estate business has acquired The Bridge, a single let office and research and development (R&D) asset in Brussels, from a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Company for EUR 88 million ($98.4 million).
The acquisition deal was facilitated through a sale and a 10-year leaseback transaction, bringing total European real estate assets under management (AUM) to approximately EUR 750 million.
Housing its marketing and R&D functions, the property serves as Coca-Cola 's Belgian headquarters.
The Bridge will be fully occupied by Coca-Cola and several of its existing sub-tenants, as the acquisition represents Investcorp’s first sale and leaseback real estate transaction in Europe, according to a company statement on Monday.
Commenting on the deal, managing director at Investcorp for the Dubai and Oman markets, Tarek Al Mahjoub, said: “This acquisition is consistent with our defined investment criteria by targeting a highly occupied property in a strategic market. We are excited to enter the Belgian market through this acquisition as we continue to expand our European real estate platform in the Benelux region.”
The Bridge, originally built in 2001, offers convenient access to major European cities, including Paris and London via train. It contains three interconnected buildings spread on 35,300 square meters of office and R&D space.
It is worth pinpointing that the purchase follows Investcorp's recent acquisitions of a multi-let office complex in Germany’s Munich for EUR 73 million and another grade A office property in the Netherlands for EUR 50 million.
