DIC Asset AG: first VIB special fund successfully launched with a volume of c. EUR 350 million

DIC Asset AG: first VIB special fund successfully launched
with a volume of c. EUR 350 million

• First open-ended real estate special fund of subsidiary VIB
• Consistent further development of DIC’s stable business model
• Strong signal effect at the start of 2023
• Reduction of pro-forma LTV by about 3.8 percentage points to around 53.1% 

Frankfurt am Main, 22 December 2022. DIC Asset AG (“DIC”), WKN: A1X3XX / ISIN: DE000A1X3XX4, today announced the successful launch of the first institutional fund of its subsidiary, VIB Vermögen AG (“VIB”).

The open-ended institutional property fund, VIB Retail Balance I, has a fund volume of c. EUR 350 million. Its investment strategy focuses on food retail properties and retail parks, while its planned term will be around 10 years and its net cash-on-cash return is targeting 4.9% annually. The fund’s entire equity capital of c. EUR 202 million has been subscribed as of today.

The fund launch presents an opportunity for DIC to demonstrate how its subsidiary VIB will match its approach of combining assets from the proprietary portfolio with investment structuring and management services for institutional investors in order to generate stable income for the entire group in the future.

“We have always taken a ‘dynamic performance’ approach to shape our business along plausible lines. Coming close to the end of a year that has been rather volatile for the industry, this fund sends a strong signal, showing that we keep expanding our unique and prospering business model consistently and with confidence. We will use it to continue to generate value-added for all of our stakeholders in 2023 while significantly lowering our loan-to-value ratio at the same time,” commented Sonja Wärntges, CEO of DIC.

VIB itself will initially provide 49% of the fund’s equity. The administration of the separate asset pool will be handled by a third-party AIFM, IntReal Real Estate KVG mbH. The portfolio consists primarily of neighbourhood retail centres, supermarkets as well as retail warehouses in nine different German states It was sold by VIB together with its subsidiary, BBI Bürgerliches Brauhaus Immobilien Aktiengesellschaft.

As a result of the overall transaction, c. EUR 18 million in annualised net rental income will be derecognised from the (consolidated) income statement of DIC before minority interests. This sum will be offset by an anticipated total income in the amount of c. EUR 26.6 million, parts of which the DIC Group will receive before the end of 2022. As planned, the concluded transactions will moreover lower the pro-forma LTV by 3.8 percentage points to around 53.1%.

The sale of the properties by VIB also ties in with the ongoing effort to focus the proprietary portfolio of the VIB group on the segments of logistics and light industrial real estate. The sale-and-purchase agreement (SPA) for the real estate portfolio sales is to be notarised shortly. Execution of the SPA is subject to the condition precedent that the transaction is cleared under merger control laws.

About DIC Asset AG:
DIC Asset AG is Germany’s leading listed specialist for office and logistics real estate with more than 20 years of experience on the real estate market and access to a broad-based network of investors. Our business is based on a regional and inter-regional real estate platform with nine offices on the ground in all major German markets (with VIB Vermögen AG included). We currently manage a total of 359 assets with a combined market value of EUR 14.5 billion on site, always close to our properties and their occupiers.

The Commercial Portfolio segment comprises real estate held for our own account. Here, we generate steady cash flows from stable rent revenues on long-term leases while also optimising the value of our portfolio assets through active management, and realising gains from sales.

In the Institutional Business segment, we earn recurrent fees from real estate services we provide to national and international institutional investors by structuring and managing investment products that return attractive dividend yields.

DIC Asset AG has been SDAX-listed since June 2006.
IR/PR Contact DIC Asset AG:
Peer Schlinkmann
Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Neue Mainzer Str. 20 • MainTor Primus

D-60311 Frankfurt am Main
T +49 69 9454858-1492
ir@dic-asset.de