A&O advised Optimum on the formation of a strategic EUR800 million joint venture with Blackstone

The joint venture will be investing in a real estate portfolio composed of 30 residential and commercial properties.

Evercore’s Investment Banking Strategic Advisory Team, Allen & Overy and Optimum collaborated to create a structure that provided liquidity for investors that wanted to exit the Fund by replacing them with Blackstone as a new investor. Remaining investors will continue to invest in the German real estate sector too, and will benefit from this new collaboration between Optimum and Blackstone. 

Optimum is a real estate private equity investment specialist, investor and developer optimising residential and commercial income-producing assets in established property markets, including the Life Sciences sector in, for example, Germany and the US. The objective of its sub-fund, Property II, which was launched in 2011 is to provide medium to long-term capital appreciation as well as distributions during the life of the investment.

Optimum’s in-house legal team was led by its general counsel Andrea Suriano, with support from Ewa Nagadowski, Tobias Schnizler, Iacopo De Totero and Dora Kiss, Nicholas Azzopardi and Una O’Driscoll. Real estate structuring specialist Manfredi Campo coordinated the overall deal management for Optimum.

Allen & Overy acted as a lead legal advisor on the transaction; a multi-practice Luxembourg/German team led by partners Yannick Arbaut and Jacques Graas, counsel Michael Fink and Joanna Pecenik as well as senior associates Laurent Goyer and Lisa Klemann, with support from senior associates Philippe Eicher and Riccardo Marinello, associates Barbara Azoulay, Khalil Boudhina, Eva Hohmann and Malika Zouine as well as trainee Patrick Kaufmann.