Nama has reportedly drawn up a shortlist of five potential buyers for its Central Park site in south Dublin, the largest single property asset to be offered for sale by the agency.
The bidders include a single group formed by Green REIT, Pimco and US investor Kennedy Wilson, according to commercial property website CoStar. The remaining bidders are said to be Blackstone, Lone Star, Apollo with Clancourt Group and Oaktree Capital with Patrizia.
First-round bids are understood to range between €247.5-€262 million. The complex was a Treasury Holdings project before coming under the control of Nama.
Final bids
The final bids due at the end of the month. CoStar reports that Hibernia REIT, the second property investment trust to list on the Irish Stock Exchange after Green REIT, and Northwood Investors both submitted bids in the first round but will not go forward to the last stage.
The size of the asset explains the consortium bids for Central Park. In the case of Green REIT, Pimco and Kennedy Wilson, it could be expected that the US investor would take on the residential element of the project if the bid were successful. Kennedy Wilson has been one of the most prolific investors in Irish commercial property since the crash, having to date spent close to €1 billion on distressed Dublin assets.
New York-based Apollo, which is bidding with Clancourt, says it has raised some $17.5 billion from third-party investors.
