【英语财经】复星集团3.45亿欧元收购米兰写字楼 Fosun spree continues with UniCredit HQ

China’s Fosun group, the acquisitive private conglomerate, has extended its footprint in Europe by buying the former Milan headquarters of Italian bank UniCredit for ￠345m.

The move by Fosun, whose boss Guo Guangchang has been dubbed “China’s Warren Buffett”, comes amid a flurry of overseas deals by the conglomerate which has embarked on an aggressive international expansion.

It also highlights increasing investor interest in Italy, which has shown the first signs of emerging from a brutal three-year recession. The volume of deals targeting Italy surged more than fourfold in the 12 months to June to $20bn, according to Italian data.

“This is a great example of the strengthening of the Italian market attracting global capital and the increasing push by Chinese investors into new markets,” said Nick Hendy, senior director of Emea Capital Markets at CBRE, which advised on the deal.

The Chinese have struck deals across several sectors in Italy in the past 18 months, including ChemChina’s acquisition in March of tyremaker Pirelli, one of Milan’s largest industrial groups.

China’s central bank has also taken stakes in Italian banks Intesa, UniCredit, Monte dei Paschi di Siena and Mediobanca, and companies

Generali, FCA, Telecom Italian,

Prysmian, Eni and Enel.

Analysts say the Chinese are attracted by Italy’s real estate and infrastructure assets and its brands, as well the country’s manufacturing expertise. Fosun made its first acquisition in Italy in 2013, buying a stake in Italian luxury goods manufacturer and retailer Caruso.

The former headquarters of UniCredit is a landmark property in a square next to the Piazza del Duomo in Milan. It will be redeveloped by Fosun in one of the largest regeneration projects in Europe, according to CBRE.

中国的复星集团(Fosun)以3.45亿欧元收购了意大利裕信银行(UniCredit)原米兰总部，这家收购意识较强的民营企业借此扩展了在欧洲的地盘。

复星的掌门人郭广昌有“中国巴菲特”之称。这笔交易出炉之际，该集团正大举推进国际扩张，做了一连串海外交易。

这笔交易还凸显了投资者对意大利的兴趣不断增加。初步迹象显示，意大利正开始摆脱持续三年的严重经济衰退。根据意大利方面的数据，在截至今年6月的12个月里，以意大利为目标的交易量激增了四倍以上。

为这笔交易提供建议的世邦魏理仕(CBRE)的欧洲、中东和非洲资本市场资深总监尼克?亨迪(Nick Hendy)表示：“这是一个很好的例子，凸显不断恢复元气的意大利市场正吸引全球资本，而中国投资者不断进军新市场。”

过去18个月，中资企业在意大利的多个行业达成了协议，包括中国化工(ChemChina)今年3月对轮胎制造商倍耐力(Pirelli)的收购，后者是米兰最大的工业集团之一。

中国央行也购入了多家意大利银行和企业的股份，包括联合圣保罗银行(Intesa Sanpaolo)、裕信银行(Unicredit)、西雅那银行(Monte dei Paschi di Siena)、知名投行Mediobanca，以及忠利保险(Generali)、菲亚特克莱斯勒汽车公司(FCA)、意大利电信(Telecom Italia)、普睿司曼(Prysmian)、埃尼集团(Eni)和意大利国家电力公司(Enel)。

分析师们表示，意大利的房地产和基础设施资产、品牌以及制造专长对中资有吸引力。复星集团在意大利的首笔收购是在2013年购入意大利奢侈品制造及零售商Caruso的股份。

意大利裕信银行原总部是与米兰杜莫广场(Piazza del Duomo)相邻的一处地标性建筑。据世邦魏理仕的消息，复星集团将对该建筑重新开发，展开欧洲最大的重建工程之一。

译者/何黎