Prudential Real Estate Investors and QInvest acquire 16-property retail portfolio in Germany

Prudential Real Estate Investors and QInvest, Qatar’s leading investment bank, acquired a portfolio of 16 retail properties located primarily in western Germany through a newly formed joint venture, the companies announced today. Prudential Real Estate Investors is the real estate investment management and advisory business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU), and operates as Pramerica Real Estate Investors in markets outside of the Americas, Korea and Japan.

The acquisition includes 16 multi-tenant retail assets anchored by major grocery and home improvement retail outlets, comprising more than 140,000 square meters across 57 units in western Germany. Key tenants include some of the largest German retailers. PREI will act as the portfolio and asset manager for the properties. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“The acquisition provides investors with access to long-term income returns through strong underlying leases with major German retailers in proven, diversified, regional markets,” said Sebastiano Ferrante, head of Germany for PREI. “We are pleased to partner with QInvest to capitalize on the attractive fundamentals of the German economy and the overall retail investment market.”

“The transaction provides us with higher yielding exposure with value add upside secured by defensive assets in one of the more robust EU economies,” said Craig Cowie, head of real estate at QInvest. “We intend offering equity to our shareholders and clients as part of our ongoing initiative to offer value add returns to all stakeholders.”

With this acquisition, PREI continues to execute on its strategy to capitalize on strong performance in the basic needs sector in Europe, including grocery and home improvement-anchored schemes. It now manages more than €700 million of German retail assets on behalf of its investors.

QInvest’s real estate unit invests opportunistically in both junior financing and equity for assets in the US, Western Europe and the UK. The areas of focus are sector agnostic and include core, value add and greenfield developments.

Prudential Real Estate Investors is the global real estate investment business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU), and operates as Pramerica Real Estate Investors in markets outside of the Americas, Korea and Japan. Redefining the real estate investing landscape since 1970, PREI has professionals in 18 cities in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific with deep local knowledge and expertise, and gross assets under management of $61.5 billion ($45.7 billion net) as of June 30, 2015. PREI’s tenured team offers to its global client base a broad range of real estate investment vehicles that span the risk-return spectrum across core, core plus, value-add, debt, securities, and specialized investment strategies. For more information, visit www.prei.com.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU), a financial services leader with more than $1 trillion of assets under management as of September 30, 2015, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.

QInvest is Qatar’s leading investment bank with operations across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, and one of the most prominent Islamic financial institutions in the world. QInvest has built world class investment and advisory capabilities, with the highest standards of governance and transparency underpinning its client-focused approach. The firm’s priority is to deliver high-value propositions, considered solutions and tangible results for its clients and shareholders. The firm has offices in Doha, Riyadh and Istanbul, as well as affiliates in India and the UK. Its team of investment professionals is the largest in the MENA region and provides a blend of broad international experience, deep regional knowledge and unparalleled relationships in Qatar. This reach and range of skills uniquely position the firm to facilitate the flow of business between Qatar, the region and global markets, making it a key institution in Qatar’s international investment plans. QInvest’s three business divisions are Asset Management, Investment Banking and Principal Investments. It has unrivalled expertise in structuring Islamic products and provides clients with sharia’a-compliant solutions quickly and competitively. QInvest was licensed by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority in April 2007 and is authorised by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority. QInvest’s shareholders include Qatar Islamic Bank, other institutional investors, as well as high-net-worth individuals. The firm has authorized capital of US$ 1 billion and paid up capital of US$ 750 million. For further information, please visit www.qinvest.com

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