Blackstone prepares €3b bid for Santander’s Madrid HQ

Blackstone Group has placed a bid for the Financial City of Santander, its Madrid headquarters,  for more than €3 billion ($3.5 billion), according to local Spanish outlets.

The Financial City of Santander will go on auction five years after its owner, the Marme Inversiones 2007 company, owned by several investment funds, went bankrupt.

Blackstone is debating whether to go to the auction on its own or if it goes hand in hand with the other creditors who in 2008 backed the purchase of the Financial City.

Blackstone has become Santander’s largest real estate partner after buying half of the portfolio of toxic assets.