Zurich/Basel/Frankfurt/Munich, 20 January 2005 – UBS Global Asset Management, a business group of UBS, will acquire a 51% stake in the real estate funds business of Siemens to expand its business activities in Germany. Accordingly, UBS Beteiligungs-GmbH & Co. KG and Siemens have today signed an agreement in which UBS will acquire a majority stake in the real estate funds business of Siemens Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH (SKAG), currently a 100% subsidiary of Siemens AG and part of the Siemens Financial Services Group.
The transaction is expected to close by the beginning of the second quarter of 2005, subject to the approval of the relevant supervisory and competition authorities. The real estate funds business of SKAG will be renamed UBS Real Estate Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH (UBS Real Estate KAG) and will form part of UBS Global Asset Management’s real estate organization. The terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.
Commenting on the acquisition John Fraser, Chairman and CEO of UBS Global Asset Management, said: “This agreement with Siemens is a great step forward in developing our business in Germany and, in particular, continuing the expansion of our real estate business in Europe.”
Reto Ketterer, Head of Real Estate – Europe at UBS Global Asset Management, added: “This acquisition will strengthen our position as an integrated provider of real estate investment management services for institutional and private clients in Continental Europe and open up a wider range of opportunities to investors in this asset class."
Dr. Herbert Lohneiß, CEO of Siemens Financial Services, commented: "In UBS Global Asset Management, we found a highly respected and global partner to strengthen our access to new real estate opportunities worldwide. This will be of great benefit to the existing business and it will enable us to serve a broader investor base via UBS's diversified client franchise in the future. With our remaining 49% share we are clearly committed to the ongoing success of these very attractive operations.”
SKAG manages three open-end real estate funds with a total fund volume of €2.051 billion (as of December 31, 2004). SKAG's real estate team employs 36 staff. It is headed by Dr. Andreas Kneip who will continue the management of the real estate business as Managing Director and Head of UBS Real Estate KAG, as it will be renamed. Before the transaction with UBS proceeds, the real estate and securities businesses of SKAG will be separated. Siemens will transfer its securities activities to a newly established Kapitalanlagegesellschaft and continue this under the name SKAG. The existing UBS real estate business in Germany under the leadership of Christoph Wittkop will be integrated into the UBS Real Estate KAG, which will be located in Munich. UBS's real estate business in Europe will now employ a total of approximately 95 staff.
Notes to editors:
About UBS and UBS Global Asset Management:
UBS AG is one of the world’s leading financial institutions. The Group combines innovation and financial strength with a global culture that embraces change. A leading provider of wealth management services, UBS is also one of the largest global asset managers and ranks among the top houses for investment banking and securities. UBS leads the Swiss market for private and corporate banking and is headquartered in Zurich and Basel. With around 66,000 employees in 50 countries, it is represented in all of the world’s key financial centres.
UBS Global Asset Management, one of the four business groups of UBS, provides traditional and alternative investment management solutions to private clients, financial intermediaries and institutional investors worldwide. Invested assets totalled some CHF 600 billion at September 30, 2004, making it one of the largest global institutional asset managers, the second largest mutual fund manager in Europe and the largest mutual fund manager in Switzerland.
With around 2,600 employees located in some 20 countries, UBS Global Asset Management is a truly global firm. The main offices are in Chicago, London, New York, Tokyo and Zurich.
UBS Global Asset Management invests in properties in the US, UK, Continental Europe and Japan and in publicly traded real estate equities worldwide. It actively manages investments in property, including office, industrial, retail, multifamily residential, hotel and farmland real estate around the world worth over CHF 26 billion (as of September 30, 2004).
About Siemens Financial Services and SKAG:
With its roughly 1,600 employees and an international network of financial companies coordinated by Siemens Financial Services GmbH, Munich, the Siemens Financial Services (SFS) Group offers a broad range of financial services. This covers everything from sales and investment financing to treasury services, fund management and insurance brokerage. SFS's key customers are above all internationally active industrial and services companies, as well as public-sector operators.
More information under: www.sfs.siemens.com
Siemens Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH (SKAG) is based in Munich and is a well-known purveyor of open-end investment funds. It was founded as the first fund management subsidiary wholly-owned by a German industrial company in 1992. As part of the Siemens Financial Services Group (SFS), SKAG manages more than €14 billion in assets, including the pension assets of Siemens AG.
More information under: www.skag.siemens.de
SKAG manages three open-end real estate funds with a total fund volume of €2.051 billion (as of December 31, 2004). The “SKAG Euroinvest Immobilien” was launched in September 1999 mainly for institutional investors and invests primarily in European office buildings in business centres. The “SKAG 3 Kontinente” was launched in October 2003 for private investors and focuses on investments in office and commercial properties in Europe, America and Asia. The third fund, “Ergo Trust Logistikfonds Nr.1”, launched in June 2004, invests in distribution centres in Germany and Austria.
For further information, contact:
UBS
Media Relations, Zürich: Monika Dunant, Tel. +41 1 234 85 00
Media Relations, Frankfurt: Anja Schlenstedt, Tel. +49 69 1369-8303
Siemens Financial Services/SKAG
Communications, Konstanze Tauber, Tel. +49 89 636-31565
