Italian conglomerate Pirelli is recommending that unitholders in the Berenice property fund accept Goldman Sachs’ offer for the Italian office portfolio. The bid values the fund at approximately €548 million ($751 million).
The Berenice fund is comprised of office assets, largely located in Rome and Milan.
Through Zwinger Opco, a special purpose vehicle set up by Whitehall, Goldman Sachs’ private equity real estate vehicle, the US investment bank offered to pay €913 per unit of the fund last week, with plans to buy 95 percent of the vehicle.
Merrill Lynch’s latest offer was €827 per unit, made via international investment fund Galante.
Prior to the recent spate of bids between Goldman and Merrill Lynch, Gamma RE, a joint venture between Pirelli Real Estate and the Morgan Stanley Special Situations Fund, also entered the fray with a bid of €685 per unit.
The most recent offer from Goldman is conditional on Pirelli not going through with the proposed disposition of five of the fund’s assets, which have a reported value of €261 million.
Approximately a quarter of the Berenice portfolio is rented to Telecom Italia and 85 percent of the property is located in the cities of Milan and Rome.
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