BERLIN (AFP) – German regional bank BayernLB said Monday that its board has approved the sale of its 92-percent share in the real estate company GBW for 2.45 billion euros ($3.18 billion) to an investor group led by the property company Patrizia.

GBW is a leading real estate provider in the southern German state of Bavaria, with 32,000 rental housing units.

The sale to the consortium, which also includes pension funds and insurance companies, is to be finalised in the second quarter of the year, BayernLB said.