Commerzbank sells real-estate portfolios in Spain, Japan

Commerzbank, Germany's second biggest lender, said Wednesday it has agreed to sell its real estate portfolios in Spain, Portugal and Japan for 5.1 billion euros ($6.9 billion).
The deal will help Commerzbank to further reduced non-core assets and beef up its capital buffers.
The bank said in a statement that it has agreed to sell its Spanish commercial real-estate financing portfolio and a portfolio of non-performing loans in Portugal totalling 4.4 billion euros.
Buyers are a consortium comprising JP Morgan and Lone Star.
In addition, it has sold 700 million euros worth of real estate in Japan to Asia-focused alternative investment manager PAG.
"These transactions are further evidence that we remain committed to our ... run-down strategy. In Spain we were able to take full advantage of the excellent market opportunity," said board member Sascha Klaus.
Both deals will free up 200 million euros in equity capital, boosting the bank's core capital ratios, Commerzbank said.
At the same time, it will have a negative impact of about 100 million euros on earnings, Commerzbank said.
Source: AFP