CA Immo buys Europolis and becomes no. 2 on office space market

Austrians are buying one another in order to survive: CA Immo, controlled by Bank Austria, is buying Europolis from Volksbank, which will make it one of the biggest players on the Bucharest office market. Its 100,000 square-metre portfolio could generate around 20 million euros in annual revenues from rent.

Two of the top foreign investors on the Romanian real estate market - the Austrians at CA Immo and Europolis - will become one company in the wake of a 272 million-euro transaction that will integrate Europolis's portfolio into CA Immo.

The two companies entered the Romanian market in the same year, 2003, when they made the first two sizeable deals, the purchase of Opera Center (by CA Immo) and of Europe House (by Europolis), in transactions amounting to 25 million euros each. Later, CA Immo also bought Bucharest Business Park, located behind Casa Presei Libere (House of Free Press), while Europolis bought from Ion Radulea the first two buildings of the project developed in Semanatoarea.

The four properties will place CA Immo on the second position in the ranking of office space owners in Bucharest, leaving local businesspeople Dinu Patriciu and Liviu Tudor behind. Another Austrian investor remains leader of the office market - Immoeast - with a nearly 200,000 square-metre portfolio.