Wing, one of Hungary’s leading real estate company, has finalized the acquisition of 56 percent stake in Echo Investment, the largest Polish developer listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
“Wing’s acquisition of the largest, market leading Polish real estate developer is a major strategic milestone in our international expansion. Poland’s real estate market is the largest in the CEE region and offers significant growth and development opportunities,” says Noah Steinberg, Chief Executive Officer at Wing. “The purchase of the majority stake of Echo Investment, a publicly listed profitable and reputable company will further strengthen both companies and will present Wing and Echo Investment with new opportunities at a regional level.”
Wing cooperated closely with Griffin Real Estate in the course of transaction, and it is anticipated that Griffin will become a co-investor in Echo Investment in the coming months.
Noah Steinberg added that Wing is a long-term, value driven, regional strategic investor who intends to continue the company’s development in line with the “Strategy for Profitable Growth” announced by Echo Investment in 2016, which means further cooperation with Griffin Real Estate and the current management team of Echo Investment.
“Wing and Echo Investment will complement each other by creating a new regional leader,” commented Steinberg. “The success of both companies is based on their outstanding teams of professionals, and both companies are committed to similar values and outstanding performance. With Echo, Wing’s regional role is taking shape.”
Griffin Real Estate will become a co-investor and is supporting Wing in its ambitious growth plans with respect to Echo Investment and the Polish real estate markets. “The purchase of 66 percent of Echo Investment back in 2015 and the implemented transformation was a very successful investment,” says Nebil Senman, Managing Partner at Griffin Real Estate. “With the new investor the most exciting period is still ahead of us and we are looking forward to it. Wing is the right partner for a long-term investment project with strong growth focus,” adds Maciej Dyjas, Managing Partner at Griffin Real Estate.
“During the last 4 years, the company has transformed from being a developer that keeps parts of the completed assets to a pure, dividend-generating developer, in line with the strategy of the profitable growth. We have become the market leader in office and retail real estate sectors in Poland and we are on a good way to achieve such a position with residential part of our business. We have interesting years ahead of us, transforming parts of the cities around Poland by developing our mixed-use projects, benefiting from all the competences and experience inside the company,” says Nicklas Lindberg, CEO at Echo Investment.
