German savings bank Sparkasse KölnBonn is raising its interest in Cologne-based Corpus Sireo to 50%, from 25% held previously. The shares are to be acquired from company co-founder Michael Zimmer for an undisclosed price.

Following completion of the deal, the German real estate asset manager will be fully owned by savings banks, the other shareholders - beside Sparkasse Köln - being Stadt¬sparkasse Düsseldorf and Frankfurter Sparkasse with a 25% stake each.

'The savings bank shareholders are one of the key success factors of your company. Being a fully-owned partnership of the savings bank enables us to consistently pursue our growth strategy, and to exploit the brand stability of Germany's family of savings banks even more intensely for the purposes of Corpus Sireo,' said CEO Ralph Günther.

Corpus Sireo manages a total of 14.5 million m2 of real estate worth EUR 15.4 bn.