(Bloomberg) -- The Schoeller Group is in exclusive talks to buy Signa’s Upper West tower in Berlin, according to people familiar with the matter, in one of the most closely watched property transactions in Germany.
The industrialist family’s investment office has been picked for exclusive negotiations after several rounds of bids for the building that is part of Austrian tycoon Rene Benko’s defunct empire, said two people familiar with the sale, who asked not to be named discussing private talks.
The insolvency administrator of Signa Prime Selection AG had been nearing a deal to sell the property for more than €400 million ($432 million), Bloomberg previously reported. The Munich-based investor is a creditor of Signa’s flagship property unit, and previously bid for other assets, including Austrian property and the five-star Bauer Hotel in Venice.
Immobilien Zeitung was first to report on the exclusivity agreement with Schoeller. A spokesperson for Signa Prime’s insolvency administrator declined to comment. The Schoeller Group didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment outside regular business hours.
Administrators have been working to unwind Signa’s expansive portfolio of luxury real estate since its collapse last year. They’ve found buyers for some prized assets, including London’s Selfridges department store, Berlin’s KaDeWe and the Lamarr development in Vienna. Others, including the Upper West in Berlin and New York’s Chrysler Building, are awaiting a resolution.
The Berlin deal is being closely watched by investors in Germany’s battered property market as a sign of potential recovery.
Shares in a Signa subsidiary that grouped a portfolio of assets, including Upper West, were offered to the Schoeller Group as collateral for a €200 million loan deal just months before the insolvency.
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