Hamburg/ Frankfurt, October 21, 2021. The Becken Group is further expanding its market position in the fund and residential segment in Germany. The Hamburg-based real estate and investment company has acquired a majority stake in INDUSTRIA WOHNEN, the specialist for residential investments in Germany, from Degussa Bank. Frankfurt-based INDUSTRIA WOHNEN manages a portfolio of 18,100 residential units, with assets under management in the residential sector totaling EUR 3.9 billion. INDUSTRIA WOHNEN holds around 1,500 apartments in its own portfolio. With the acquisition, the company will become part of the Becken Group as of December 31, 2021. INDUSTRIA WOHNEN will remain an independent company and will continue to use the existing brand name. The strategic investment is an important step for Becken to expand its vertical integration. Degussa Bank AG, INDUSTRIA WOHNEN and Becken have entered into a long-term cooperation agreement.

Dieter Becken, Managing Partner of Becken Holding GmbH, says: "As a family business, we have been developing office and residential real estate for 43 years now and have developed into a real estate and investment company operating throughout Germany. The investment in INDUSTRIA WOHNEN is one of the most important milestones in our company's history. It expands our value chain, starting with the planning and construction of office and residential properties, through property and asset management to fund and investment management."
 

Michael Krupp, CEO of Degussa Bank AG, says: "Degussa Bank continues to focus on its core business Worksite Financial Services. INDUSTRIA WOHNEN remains a strategic partner of Degussa Bank. As a financier for residential real estate and a strong sales partner for residential funds and investment properties, Degussa Bank will continue to stand by INDUSTRIA WOHNEN's side." Krupp continued: "The sale will free up funds that will allow us to focus more strongly on digitalization and strengthen our business model and equity. We look forward to continuing our good cooperation with INDUSTRIA WOHNEN and our new partner, the Becken Group."
Jörn Stobbe, CEO of Becken Holding GmbH, explains: "The acquisition of INDUSTRIA WOHNEN by the Becken Group was the next logical step for the company's further growth. For INDUSTRIA WOHNEN, everything will remain as it is now. The management and employees will be taken over and sales to institutional and private investors will continue as before." Stobbe adds: "INDUSTRIA WOHNEN will continue to enter into and expand partnerships with project developers. Both companies are united by their focus on implementing ESG criteria in the corporate business."

Arnaud Ahlborn, Managing Director of INDUSTRIA WOHNEN, says: "Becken is a family business with long-term interests. This continuity is an important message to our employees, the tenants of our fund properties and the investors and fits in well with our company and its more than 65 years of market history in Frankfurt am Main. I am pleased that INDUSTRIA WOHNEN will continue to operate independently in the future and under the well-known and established brand."

Jürgen Hau, also Managing Director of INDUSTRIA WOHNEN, adds: "With the Becken Group, INDUSTRIA WOHNEN now has a strategically important shareholder with whom INDUSTRIA WOHNEN can continue to develop sustainably. We are looking forward to the future together."

The independence of the two companies will also be maintained in the fund business. BECKEN Invest will continue to focus on the institutional fund business in the debt and core office area in the sense of an "investment boutique". Prof. Dr. Michael Becken and Michael Amann will be jointly responsible for this business area as managing directors. INDUSTRIA WOHNEN will continue to concentrate on the residential sector, serving both institutional and private investors. Prof. Dr. Michael Becken comments: "We started launching regulated products via BECKEN Invest back in 2017 and have since placed three funds. The acquisition of INDUSTRIA WOHNEN is a strategic step in the inorganic expansion of Becken's investment business. The fact that INDUSTRIA WOHNEN is not only an established player on the market, but that its business model is also complementary to our existing activities, speaks in its favor." Prof. Dr. Michael Becken emphasizes: "Both companies will remain autonomous and will operate independently of each other on the market."

CFC Corporate Finance Contor GmbH and eXapital Capital Advisors GmbH from Hamburg and Ernst & Young GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft have acted as transaction advisors for the transaction process since spring 2021. GSK STOCKMANN Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB from Berlin acted as legal advisor to Becken, Flick Gocke Schaumburg Rechtsanwälte Wirtschaftsprüfer Steuerberater from Frankfurt as tax advisor. HEUKING KÜHN LÜER WOJTEK provided legal advice to Degussa Bank. Cushman & Wakefield C&W (U.K.) LLP - German Branch and CBRE GmbH Capital Markets from Frankfurt also acted as advisors.