Drago Capital and an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management have acquired a real estate portfolio consisting of 97 bank branches from Caja Madrid in a sale and 25-year lease back transaction.
Caja Madrid is the fourth largest Spanish financial group.
The financing for the transaction is being provided by Banco Santander, La Caixa and Natixis.
Cushman & Wakefield was responsible for the valuation of the branches. Gómez-Acebo & Pombo and Ashurst served as legal advisers to Drago and Cerberus. Linklaters advised the financing banks.
A spokesperson at Drago says: “We are very satisfied to complete this transaction with Caja Madrid, one of Spain’s leading financial institutions. Reaching a mutually beneficial agreement for the acquisition of this high-quality real estate portfolio is a gratifying achievement. In addition, we are pleased to have Cerberus, one of the world’s leading private investment firms, as a partner in this transaction, and we hope to partner with them on additional investments in Spain in the future.”
Timothy F. Price, managing director at Cerberus, adds: “Cerberus is pleased to be making this investment in a high-quality portfolio of Spanish properties. Drago Capital and Cerberus worked together with Caja Madrid to reach a real estate investment agreement that benefits all parties.”
Drago is a real estate investment company based in Madrid and Cerberus is a private investment firm.
