German office property firm Prime Office raised roughly EUR 214 mln after placing 34.5 million shares at a price of EUR 6.20 per share on the Frankfurt and Munich stock exchanges on Thursday. The operation comes a week after Prime Office was forced to postpone its IPO at a substantially higher price of EUR 7-9.50 due to 'volatile market conditions'.

The company had originally targeted proceeds of EUR 334 mln for its listing on 24 June.

'The IPO is a milestone for our company,' said Chief Executive Claus Hermuth. 'With the proceeds from the IPO, Prime Office has achieved a REIT compliant financing structure. Our shareholders will benefit from long-term, sustainable dividend payments as provided for in the German REIT law. Furthermore, we will be included in the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index Series as soon as the stock is listed.'

About 99.82% of the shares were placed with institutional investors in Germany and abroad. The remaining 0.18% was allotted to private investors in Germany. UniCredit Bank and Berenberg Bank acted as Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners. Kempen & Co and Macquarie Capital were mandated as Co-Lead Managers.

The shares of Prime Office will start trading on the Frankfurt and the Munich stock exchanges on Friday, 1 July. The company's free float will amount to 66.42%. Prime Office, which has been registered as a pre-REITcompany since 2007, intends to convert to the tax-privileged REIT status immediately after the admission of its shares to trading.

Prime Office said the operation will generate net proceeds of about EUR 203 mln, of which EUR 190 mln will be used to repay loans and further strengthen its equity capital base. The remaining portion of the proceeds will be invested in new office acquisitions in Germany. Prime Office owns a portfolio consisting of 14 office properties comprising 385,000 m2 in major German cities and conurbations and valued at EUR 970 mln.