Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised Westend Real Assets GmbH (“Westend Real Assets”) on the acquisition of two German colocation data centres in Hamburg from Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (“DBAG”), as well as on the related acquisition financing provided by Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (“pbb”).
The acquisition comprised the Leuchtturm and Rahlstedt data centres located in Hamburg-Alsterdorf and Hamburg-Rahlstedt respectively. Both assets are operated by IT services provider and data centre operator aquinet. Through the acquisition, Westend Real Assets expands the portfolio of its HAL Digitale Infrastruktur Deutschland 1 special AIF with two fully operational data centres offering additional development potential.
Frankfurt-based asset manager Westend Real Assets is a wholly owned subsidiary of Westend Bank AG, owned by the Hopp family. It specialises in institutional real estate and real asset investment with approximately €750m AUM across five special funds. The HAL Digitale Infrastruktur Deutschland 1 special AIF managed by Westend Real Assets invests in modern colocation data centres in Germany.
DBAG is a listed investment company and one of the leading private equity investors in the German mid-market. To date, DBAG has supported more than 400 investments and manages or has approximately €2.8bn AUM.
pbb is a leading European specialist bank for commercial real estate finance, supporting clients on complex real estate and financing transactions across Europe.
The WFW Germany Infrastructure team that advised Westend Real Assets was led by Munich Corporate/Real Estate Partner Jörn Fingerhuth, working closely with Frankfurt Finance Counsel Andrey Latyshev. They were supported by Hamburg Counsel Tatjana Giutronich, Senior Associates Josephina Knauf and Fabienne Bischoff, Associates Stefan Riedmeyer and Tetiana Arkhipova. Senior Associates Julian Kasper and Moritz von Baumbach advised on corporate law aspects of the transaction. Hamburg Partner Dr Stefan Kilgus, Managing Associate Dr Marlene Kowerk and Associate Leon Rupp worked on financing matters. Hamburg Partner Dr F. Maximilian Boemke and Senior Associate Wiebke Westermann advised on regulatory matters whilst Frankfurt Counsel Manuel Burghardt-Rustler, Associates Dr Alexander Brune and Finn Ortmeier provided tax advice.
Jörn commented: “With the acquisition of these two data centres, Westend Real Assets is strategically strengthening its commitment to the digital infrastructure sector. The transaction combines established operational stability with further development potential and underlines the attractiveness of this segment for long-term investors. We are delighted to have advised Westend Real Assets on this acquisition”.
