Noerr advises OPES on the acquisition of the Alte Akademie in Munich

Noerr, with a team headed by Annette Pospich, has advised the OPES Immobilien Group on the acquisition of the Alte Akademie in Munich. The OPES Immobilien Group will develop the historic site in Munich's city centre into a mixed-use urban quarter in collaboration with Hammer AG by 2029.

This will heal the urban planning wound caused by the previous owner’s insolvency and the construction freeze that lasted several years. The Alte Akademie is expected to reopen in 2029 as an attractive quarter in a prime location for shops, restaurants, offices and residential use. OPES will retain the Alte Akademie in its own portfolio in the long term, thereby removing it from the market as a speculative asset.

OPES has acquired the leasehold rights from the insolvency administrator – rights which had been granted by the Free State of Bavaria to an Austrian property group in 2013 – as well as ownership of the sub-plot of the complex from the Free State. The Budget Committee of the Bavarian State Parliament had already given the green light last December. The parties have agreed not to disclose the price.

With the OPES Real Estate Group – which manages the property activities of the Heinz Hermann Thiele Family Foundation – a competent, long-term-oriented, reliable and responsible owner, possessing the necessary financial strength and not interested in short-term returns, is taking over this property of significance to Munich and Bavaria. The historic Alte Akademie, together with the adjacent St Michael’s Church, ranks among the most significant Renaissance buildings north of the Alps.

Advisors to OPES Immobilien Gruppe: Noerr

Lead: Annette Pospich (Partner, Munich)

Real Estate: Antonio Di Mieri (Lead Senior Associate, Munich), Volker Bock (Partner), Markus Zeibig (Counsel, both Dresden), Manuel Lomb (Associated Partner), Emily Louise Hannemann (Associate), Daniel Nickisch (Associate, all Munich)

Restructuring: Dorothee Prosteder (Partner, Munich), Marlies Raschke (Partner, Dresden), Konrad Fichter (Senior Associate, Berlin)

Regulatory: Peter Bachmann (Partner, Munich), Julian von Lucius (Partner, Berlin), Ines Wagner (Counsel), Philipp Leber (Senior Associate), Stefanie Gschossmann (Senior Associate), Laura Habermann (Associate, all Munich)

Tax: Carsten Heinz (Partner), Steffen Arlich (Associated Partner, both Munich)