Axa Investment Managers - Real Assets has acquired a portfolio of eight acute-care hospital facilities in northern Italy from private operator Policlinico Di Monza for about €180m ($193m).
The transaction, which is Axa IM - Real Assets' first healthcare acquisition in Italy, has been made on behalf of a 50/50 joint venture between Axa insurance companies and a member of the group of companies owned by Medical Properties Trust (MPT), a NYSE-listed real estate investment trust (REIT).
The transaction is a sale and leaseback with Policlinico Di Monza, one of Italy's leading private hospital operators, which has committed to a long-term lease and will continue to run the facilities.
The agreement also provides an option for Axa IM – Real Assets to expand the relationship with Policlinico Di Monza through further acquisitions.
The portfolio comprises eight acute care facilities totalling over 80,000 sq m and 829 hospital beds, located across the affluent Piedmont and Lombardy regions of northern Italy.
The transaction is the second Axa IM - Real Assets has undertaken on behalf of its clients in partnership with MPT.
Alessio Lucentini, head of asset management & transactions in Italy, real assets, said the acquisition "is indicative of our confidence in the Italian healthcare sector, which is underpinned by a number of compelling socioeconomic factors, such as a growing elderly population."
He said Axa IM – Real Assets believed in the long-term growth prospects of "this important segment of the Italian real estate market" and the firm would "continue to monitor further investment opportunities."