AMB Property Corporation, a leading owner, operator and developer of global industrial real estate, has announced the formation of a joint venture between AMB and Allianz Real Estate. The fund is structured as a Luxembourg FCP-FIS and its investment strategy is to acquire, own and operate logistics real estate tied to global trade and located in major seaport, airport and distribution markets in the Eurozone.

"We are pleased to be partnering with Allianz Real Estate, a global leader in financial services," said Hamid R. Moghadam, AMB's chairman and CEO. "This is a critical step in our commitment to developing private capital ventures with leading global investors. With this new venture we will seek opportunities to deploy capital across the Eurozone in markets that are vital to the global supply chain."

Allianz Real Estate's initial equity commitment will be approximately euro 400 million and the joint venture's overall equity commitment is €470 million (USD $648 million), including AMB's 15% co-investment.

"It is Allianz Real Estate's strategy to invest indirectly in regions or niches where we do not have adequate expertise on our own," said Olivier Piani, CEO, Allianz Real Estate. "We find this expertise for an industrial joint venture with partners like AMB. This joint venture is the largest we have done thus far, as well as our biggest foray into the logistics space. We see a lot of long-term opportunities and are excited to move forward."

As of December 31, 2010, AMB's portfolio in Europe totaled more than 1.4 million square meters (15.4 million square feet) of operating and development properties.