US private equity firm Colony Capital has acquired a portfolio of institutional real estate collateralised non-performing loans (NPL) from four German banks: Eurohypo, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, Berlin Hyp and Archon Capital Bank.

The loans, with a face value of EUR 370 mln, are said to have been acquired for just over EUR 65 mln. They were used to develop five properties primarily in Berlin and Frankfurt in the mid to late 1990s. All loans in the portfolio were held by one borrower.

This is the fourth German NPL purchase bu Colony Capital since the end of 2009. 'This transaction marks the first time syndicated loans have been sold together as a package by a banking consortium as an NPL transaction in Germany, and possibly in Europe,' said Dilip Awtani, managing director and head of Colony's Europe Debt Strategies.

He added: 'Our strategy is to partner with bankers to help them reduce exposure to non-performing loans and to monetize illiquid assets. Europe is an active arena for underperforming and distressed assets, and we are pursuing many commercial real estate opportunities throughout the region to put our capital to work.'

Founded in 1991, Colony Capital has a team of more than 250 and is headquartered in Los Angeles.