The German banking group Aareal has announced that it will be buying all shares in in the real estate specialist WestImmo in a deal worth €350m. Aareal claims the price represents roughly a negative goodwill €150m discount compared with WestImmo’s equity and that this is under IFRS regulations. The new owners will realize the negative goodwill as profit on a one-time basis upon closing. The deal should close by June.
