(5 August 2004 – Australia) Deutsche Bank will combine its three Australian property trusts in October with the new enlarged entity aiming to buy US$1 billion of US industrial property assets.The merged entity aims to have half of its assets overseas as these will generate better returns than the Australian market which is suffering from a lack of property assets.
Known as DB RREEF, the new trust will purchase 80 percent of a portfolio of US industrial property assets which are currently controlled by the largest US pension fund, California Public Employees Retirement System.
Deutsche Bank’s investment trust merger pushes the amount of M&A activity among Australian property companies to more than US$30 billion so far this year.