Logicor, Blackstone’s European logistics platform, has selected BAML to refinance Certeum’s logistics property portfolio with a €575m five-year senior loan which the investment bank will either securitise in a new CMBS transaction or syndicate.
Certeum, a logistics and industrial property investment company in Finland founded in September 2014 by, owns 122 logistics and industrial properties, mainly located in the biggest cities in Finland, over approximately 1.3m sq m.
Certeum property portfolio is approximately 60% comprised, by market value, of assets in Greater Helsinki; and another one-third are in other Finnish growth regions; with the balance elsewhere in Finland. The largest 10 properties reflect 30% of the portfolio.
CoStar News understands that the BAML €575m senior loan reflects a 62.5% LTV, which implies a current valuation of Certeum’s portfolio of approximately €920m. BAML’s senior loan margin is in the 300 basis points area.
Logicor has acquired a more than 70% stake in the company within the last six months, which began with Sponda’s 38% equity stake in December for €181m and Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company’s 19.5% stake for an assumed price of €92.9m.
An eight-strong group of minority shareholders, which owned between 0.1% and 4.0% each, have all sold their equity stakes to Logicor, at an assumed proportional price to the Sponda deal.
Logicor’s purchase of the majority equity stake in Certeum was made through Tungsten Investment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe IV fund.
Remaining shareholders include Varma, which divested 50% of its original stake leaving a remaining 19.5%, and Finland’s The State Pension Fund, which still owns 10%.
BAML refinancing will replace the original syndicated loan facilities which Certeum secured back in September 2014 to finance its original portfolio. The legacy facilities comprised:
· a five-year loan agreement totalling €360m;
· a three-year loan agreement totalling €100m;
· a four-year revolving credit facility totalling €40m.
According to Certeum’s 2014 annual accounts, the drawn balance was €457m was at the end of 2014, excluding a circa €10m interest rate derivative liability.
The main lenders of the legacy facilities are: Danske Bank, Nordea Pankki Suomi Oyj, Pohjola Pankki Oyj, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (PUBL), Svenska Handelsbanken AB (PUBL) and Swedbank.
Certeum’s original 124-strong property portfolio was formed through the purchase of 12 assets from Sponda and 22 from Varma.
In addition, the remaining 90 properties were transferred to Certeum after it purchased Sponda Fund I, Sponda Fund II and Sponda Fund III from the investors of these funds. The total value of the transactions in 2014 was €917m.
All parties declined to comment.
jwallace@costar.co.uk
CoStar Finance 