Swiss Prime Site acquires real estate asset manager Akara Group
Swiss Prime Site, a listed real estate company, has acquired the Akara Group in Zug, a founder-managed real estate asset manager with around CHF 2.3 bn in assets under management. The acquisition will enable Swiss Prime Site Solutions to increase its client base considerably and expand the existing investment platform with additional product and fund categories, such as real estate private equity investments.
The transaction is expected to be completed in mid-January 2022 with retroactive effect from 1 January 2022. The plan is to integrate the Akara Group and the respective companies into Swiss Prime Site Solutions during the course of the 2022 financial year and to merge the two fund management companies.
Akara Funds was founded in 2016 and has since evolved into a FINMA-regulated fund provider with a focus on residential and commercial real estate. The group also includes Akara Real Estate Management, which provides real estate services in the areas of development, realisation, property management and marketing, and Akara Property Development, which manages a limited partnership for collective investment (KmGK).
Swiss Prime Site is a Swiss listed real estate company. The business activities cover the whole real estate life cycle – from acquisition, project development, conversion and realisation to management as well as company and third-party utilisation of the properties. Including Swiss Prime Site Solutions, Swiss Prime Site manages real estate assets of CHF 15.7 billion.
Niederer Kraft Frey acted as counsel to the founders and shareholder of Akara Group on the sale of Akara Group to Swiss Prime Site. The NKF Team was led by partner Ulysses von Salis (pictured), working with associate Katalin Siklosi and junior associate Carlotta Ulmer (all m&a), senior associate Florian Louis Steiner (regulatory) as well as partner Thomas Graf and associate Sara Müller (both tax).
Homburger advised Swiss Prime Site in all legal matters of this transaction. For further details regarding the Homburger team click here
