WING’s acquisition of a stake in German company Bauwert completed - The Budapest-based group has acquired a majority stake in a major German property development company
2023-04-21
WING’s transaction in the German property market has been officially completed, so the Hungarian group is now a major player in the property development market in three countries. WING concluded an agreement in late 2022 to acquire a majority stake in Bauwert AG. By acquiring a majority stake in the leading German property company, WING is implementing its international expansion plans: the transaction is another step towards becoming the leading property development group in the Central European property market.
The process through which WING acquired a stake in Bauwert, Germany’s renowned residential and commercial property development company, has now been completed. WING, a major property development and investment group in Central Europe and Griffin Capital Partners, a Polish investment and asset management company together acquired 60% of the shares in the German company, of which the latter holds 10%, which means WING is now the majority owner of the leading German property company.
Access to the German property market and the 2019 acquisition of a majority stake in Echo Investment, a company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, strengthened the diversification of WING’s portfolio and contributed to its increasingly stable growth prospects.
‘In line with our strategic goals, we strive to strengthen our presence in the Hungarian market and we also focus on becoming a major operator in the international property market. Following our achievements in Poland through Echo, with this acquisition of a majority stake in Bauwert, we are now also present on the German market,’ said Noah Steinberg, Chairman and CEO of WING. The completion of the transaction is a major milestone in the implementation of our strategy that will see us become a major property developer in Europe, since our group is now one of the key operators of the property development market in three countries.’
With the conclusion of the transaction, WING has become a majority owner of one of the best known and most important property development companies in Germany. Since it was established in 1983, Bauwert has completed more than 330 projects constituting more than 2 million square metres. Over 70% of the residential and commercial projects are focused in Berlin, and the total value of developments to date exceeds EUR 4.5 billion. Currently, the company has a development pipeline of more than EUR 2.5 billion in prime Berlin locations and dynamically growing surrounding areas.
After the official completion of the transaction, 40% of the shares of Bauwert are still owned by the previous stakeholders, who will continue to operate the company and will be responsible for the 550,000+ square meter ongoing developments and the preparation of future projects.
