Shearman & Sterling advised IVG Caverns GmbH, a subsidiary of IVG Immobilien AG, on the transfer of seven underground gas storage facilities (caverns) to a special fund managed by IVG Institutional Funds GmbH (IVG Cavern Fund). IVG will devote the proceeds for the seven caverns to reduce its debt by a further €200 million.
The transfer of the seven caverns is a further milestone in the growth of the IVG Cavern Fund, which was launched in 2008. IVG Caverns had undertaken at that time to sell and transfer 40 existing caverns and 30 caverns under construction to IVG Institutional Funds GmbH. The transfer of the caverns takes place after the construction of the respective caverns.
To date, 18 caverns have been completed and transferred in the meantime to the IVG Cavern Fund since the fund was launched in 2008 with 40 existing caverns. This has generated total proceeds of around €500 million, which have been used in full to repay outstanding loans. A further 12 caverns are scheduled to be completed and transferred to the fund by 2014. The IVG Cavern Fund will then be one of the largest infrastructure funds in the world, with an investment volume of around €1.7 billion. The fund, which is owned by 14 German institutional investors, is managed by IVG Institutional Funds GmbH in its capacity as fund manager.
The Shearman & Sterling team included partner Rainer Wilke (Düsseldorf-Mergers & Acquisitions), counsel Joachim Grittmann (Frankfurt-Public Law) and associates Christoph Neven and Carlos Robles y Zepf (both Düsseldorf-Mergers & Acquisitions).
