OREANDA-NEWS. The Commercial Real Estate Awards, held in Moscow on 18 April 2013, have recognised Sberbank CIB’s leading role in the most significant transaction across the Russian commercial real estate market in 2012. Sberbank CIB provided financial advisory and arranged the financing for O1 Properties’ acquisition of the White Square business center. As part of the transaction, Sberbank Merchant Banking acquired a 33% stake in the project company in the form of convertible preferred shares.

The transaction was awarded the prestigious title of ‘Deal of the Year’ at the ceremony on Thursday night. The deal was the largest M&A transaction in the Russian real estate market in 2012, the largest single asset office deal in the Russian market, and one of the five largest single asset deals across the globe in 2012.

The transaction was prepared by the Sberbank CIB joint team, which included the Real Estate Finance Division, Client Managers Division of the Department of Corporate Clients, Investment Banking Department and Sberbank Merchant Banking. The White Square business center, which totals 76,542 sq. meters, is one of the largest business centers in Moscow. Its tenants include PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte & Touche, McKinsey, Microsoft and other major international companies.