Page "Potsdamer Platz" Paragraph 121

On 17 December 2007, Daimler announced that they were selling their entire complex of 19 buildings at Potsdamer Platz to SEB Asset Management, a Frankfurt-based subsidiary of the Swedish banking group SEB.

On 28 February 2008, Sony made a similar announcement, of impending sale to a consortium led by American investment banking giant ( now bank holding company ) Morgan Stanley.

Both deals were finalised by the end of March 2008.

Whilst the amounts involved have not been publicly disclosed, it is believed that neither Daimler nor Sony recouped all of their original investments ( what Daimler managed to get was reportedly well short ).

The long-term benefits ( or otherwise ) of these sales, remain to be seen, but whilst they may have baffled many people at the time, they may turn out to have been a shrewd move, as Daimler and Sony have avoided being saddled with something they might have found much harder to sell at a later date, just when they needed the cash the most.