Noerr advises on acquisition of residential and commercial properties from Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen

21.09.2021

Led by its Dusseldorf-based partners Alexander Hirsch and Christoph Brenzinger, Noerr has advised in connection with the purchase of around 15,000 residential and commercial properties by the state-owned Berlin housing companies HOWOGE, degewo and berlinovo.

The sellers are the listed real estate companies Vonovia SE and Deutsche Wohnen SE. The purchase price is around €2.46 billion and will be leveraged by all three housing companies.

With just under 8,300 flats, HOWOGE is taking over more than half of the offered portfolio, while berlinovo is acquiring more than a quarter with more than 4,000 flats. degewo will acquire slightly more than 2,400 flats. By acquiring the flats, the housing companies are strengthening their position as municipal housing provider and fulfilling their social function. While most of the properties acquired represent complexes of buildings, such as the Falkenhagener Feld in Spandau, Thermometersiedlung in Lichterfelde and High-Deck-Siedlung in Neukölln, the portfolio also includes smaller developments.

The transaction was particularly complex due to Vonovia’s public takeover offer to the shareholders of Deutsche Wohnen in view of the planned merger of the two real estate groups.

Noerr advised HOWOGE comprehensively not only on transaction law, but also on corporate, tax, regulatory and capital markets law issues. Degewo and berlinovo were advised on legal issues by their own legal advisors. Noerr was responsible for the coordination of the housing companies in the context of the transaction as well as vis-à-vis the State of Berlin.

“We are proud to have advised HOWOGE on this complex transaction. Above all, we were able to cover the capital markets and regulatory issues with our integrated teams and thus contribute to the success of the transaction”, said Alexander Hirsch.

Closing of the transaction is still subject to clearance by the antitrust authorities.

Advisors to HOWOGE Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung: Noerr

Team lead: Dr Alexander Hirsch (Corporate/M&A), Christoph Brenzinger (Commercial Real Estate, Dusseldorf)

Corporate/M&A
Dr Benedikt Vogt, Dr Philipp Buchs, David Funken, Dr Meret Pettirsch (Dusseldorf)

Commercial Real Estate
Dr Tim Behrens (Frankfurt)
Dr Henrik Dornscheidt (Dusseldorf)

Capital Markets
Dr Michael Brellochs, Dr Timm Gaßner (Munich)
Dr Julian Schulze de la Cruz (Frankfurt)

Finance
Andreas Naujoks, Doreen Pape, Dorian Legel (Frankfurt)

Antitrust & Competition
Dr Alexander Birnstiel, Immo Schuler, LL.M. (Munich)

Regulatory
Dr Holger Schmitz, Dr Max Helleberg (Berlin)
Hendrik Schlutt (Dresden)

Tax
Dr Carsten Heinz, Steffen Arlich (Munich)

Employment & Pensions
Patrick Mückl (Dusseldorf)