Hamburg Commercial Bank advises ABC Westland exclusively on sale of its business

• New Owner for dutch logistics park
• Buyer is US real estate investor Hines

Hamburg, May 16, 2019 - Hamburg Commercial Bank’s M&A team has advised the owners of ABC Westland on the sale of its entire shares and assets to real estate investor Hines. ABC Westland is one of the leading logistics parks (117,000 m²) for agricultural produce and food in Westland, Netherlands, the largest vegetable growing area in Europe.

With this transaction, the owners of ABC Westland have found an ideal arrangement for the succession of the park, ensuring attractive growth prospects for the future through the new owners. “In Hamburg Commercial Bank, we have found the best partner for our strategic considerations. The M&A team is very experienced in international transactions and supported us highly professionally,” said Aad van der Windt, co-owner of ABC Westland. “It was important to me to evaluate various exit strategies because the future prospects of ABC Westland was my key interest. I felt comfortable taking this step because I knew I had found the right partner and the right solution. International real estate investor Hines offers outstanding prospects and the success story of our logistics park can be continued.” The transaction is the second-largest single asset deal in the Dutch logistics market so far.

Hines, based in the United States, is an international real estate investor and asset manager with more than US$ 120 billion assets under management and a global presence in 214 cities and 24 countries. By acquiring ABC Westland, Hines has significantly expanded its portfolio of logistics real estate in the Netherlands. It is the second property acquired within a few months. As recently as October 2018 Fresh Park Venlo in the south of the country was aquired.

“This deal is an impressive example for the dynamics of the logistics market in our neighbouring country but we also see high investment activities in fresh produce logistics in Germany. The industry also offers attractive growth opportunities to general food companies. We have a strong focus on the real estate and logistics markets and will further support the ongoing consolidation,” said Karsten Maschler, Head of M&A at Hamburg Commercial Bank. With 130 transactions, the Bank is, especially for SMEs, among the established advisers for acquisitions and divestitures, from owner-managed companies to international corporations.