Allianz buys Milan asset from Blackstone for €200 million

Allianz Real Estate has consolidated its presence in Milan with the acquisition of an asset in the central Via Solferino from Blackstone for €200 million.

Tenants of the office building, which covers over 34,000 sq m, include WeWork and CdP, the state-owned investment bank, and Italian bank UBI Banca.

According to Italian media reports, the three buildings included in the deal with Allianz will remain part of Delphine, the real estate fund managed by Kryalos, Blackstone’s partner in Italy, as Allianz has bought shares in the fund.

Last year Rcs Mediagroup had bought back the headquarters of Italy’s Corriere della Sera, a newspaper the company owns, from Blackstone for €60 million after a protracted court case. The two groups reached an agreement to settle their legal row regarding the sale to the US company in 2013 of the period building which is next door to the one now bought by Allianz, .

Now, following the sale of the remaining assets to Allianz, Blackstone has waved goodbye to Via Solferino, one of Milan’s most famous streets in the central Brera district of the city.

In foreign investors’ view, Italy’s economic and business capital continues to be the most attractive market by far. Of the €12 billion investment volume in 2022 in Italy, foreign capital accounted for over 70% and offices were the most sought-after asset class.

There is huge demand for high-quality, centrally located and ESG-compliant offices but the gap between supply and demand means that when an asset comes to the market it can command a high price.

An example is the €350 million that Generali Real Estate and Poste Vita, two Italian companies, paid late last year to acquire the newly refurbished Cortile della Seta, an iconic period building in the Brera district in central Milan. The two companies had already teamed up in the past to make acquisitions in Frankfurt, Berlin and Rome.