GSW Immobilien AG, formerly Gemeinnützige Siedlungs- und Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Berlin mbH, is a German real-estate company in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

. The company invests in residential property and also manages residential and commercial property

Commercial property

The term commercial property refers to buildings or land intended to generate a profit, either from capital gain or rental income.-Definition:...

 on behalf of third parties.

Originally a company founded and owned by the city of Berlin, GSW was sold to a private equity

Private equity

Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....

 consortium led by Cerberus Capital Management

Cerberus Capital Management

Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is one of the largest private equity investment firms in the United States. The firm is based in New York City, and run by -year-old financier Steve Feinberg. Former U.S...

 and Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...

' Whitehall fund in 2005. The company raised €468 million in an initial public offering

Initial public offering

An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...

 on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

Frankfurt Stock Exchange

The Frankfurt Stock Exchange is the world's 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. Located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is owned and operated by Deutsche Börse, which also owns the European futures exchange Eurex and the clearing company...

 in April 2011, the year after an IPO attempt failed due to market volatility. As of October 2011, both Goldman and Cerberus retained an approximate 10% stake in the company.

GSW's Berlin headquarters was designed by Sauerbruch Hutton

Sauerbruch Hutton

Sauerbruch Hutton is an architecture practice based in Berlin, Germany. It was founded by Matthias Sauerbruch and Louisa Hutton in 1989, and since then has grown to a team of around 100 people....

, for which they received a Stirling Prize

Stirling Prize

The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...

nomination in 2000.