OMERS buys landmark Berlin property Sony Center for 1.1 billion euros

[October 02, 2017]  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Canadian pension fund OMERS and U.S. buyout group Madison are acquiring Berlin's landmark property Sony Center from Korea's national pension fund NPS for 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), the companies said on Monday.

The underground entrance to the Sony Centre at Potsdamer Platz square is pictured in Berlin, Germany, March 3, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

The eight buildings at Berlin's central square Potsdamer Platz include BahnTower, the headquarters of national railway company Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL], as well as office and retail space used by tenants such as Sony, Sanofi, Facebook and WeWork. They also house cinemas and residential units.

NPS had bought the property for $767 million from Morgan Stanley in 2010.

Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) will acquire the property through its Oxford Properties unit, which recently invested in Paris' La Defense district and after the Berlin deal will have 2.3 billion in continental European investments. Most of its other assets are located in London.

The acquisition is set to be completed in the fourth quarter.

($1 = 0.8516 euros)

(Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Ludwig Burger)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.