The emperor's new clothes

Europe At the beginning of April, ProLogis must have still been feeling rather secure in its long-held position as the world's largest industrial space developer. Although the glory days of speculative warehouse development before the financial crash are now but a memory, the US giant still had its European portfolio of properties safely under management. Or so it thought - until Goodman and APG threatened to take it away from them. The scramble for sharesProLogis European Properties (PEPR), which is listed on the Amsterdam Euronext exchange, had a portfolio of 232 buildings in eleven European countries at the end of March, with a combined area of 4.9 mln sqm and an estimated market value of EUR 2.8 bln. At the time, ProLogis, which set up PEPR in 1999, held a 33 pct stake in the company as well as the management rights to its properties. PEPR also had (and still has) debts of around EUR 1.5 bln. A few days later, however, Australian industrial developer Goodman teamed up with PEPR's