Sonae Sierra and the Slovakian real estate developer Peter Korbačka have signed a joint venture agreement to acquire the GranCasa (Zaragoza), Valle Real (Camargo) and Max Center (Barakaldo) Shopping Centres, in Spain. These centres were owned by the Sierra Fund (investment fund managed by Sonae Sierra) and by CBRE Retail Property Fund Iberica (“CBRE RPFI”, fund managed by CBRE Global Investors), each one holding a 50 percent stake, and were managed by Sonae Sierra. Under the acquisition agreement, Peter Korbačka will have a shareholding of 87.5 percent, with Sonae Sierra owning the remaining 12.5 percent and providing all the management services. The transaction price is €485 million.
This joint venture agreement is in line with Sonae Sierra’s current strategy of reaching agreements with major international investors, looking for an operating partner able to provide top quality asset management, property management and development services, in order to redevelop the acquired properties and create value for the investors.
In respect to the agreement, Peter Korbačka has declared: “Spain is one of the most solid markets in the real estate sector within Europe. We are delighted to acquire a portfolio of consolidated and dominant shopping centres in three of the largest and wealthiest cities in Northern Spain. In addition, having a partner like Sonae Sierra, gives us great confidence on the success of this opportunity.”
According to Pedro Caupers, Chief Investment Officer and Board Director at Sonae Sierra, “We are very happy to partner with Peter Korbačka for this new venture in the Spanish market. We believe this new partnership will mark a new future for these three shopping centres in Spain, which will face important renovation investments and tenant-mix improvements, to bring top-quality customer experience and create value for the stakeholders. In addition, we trust this new partnership will be the beginning of a long-lasting relationship, that could be extended to new projects, either in Spain or in other European countries”.
Antonio Simontalero, Fund Manager of CBRE RPFI and Country Manager Iberia of CBRE Global Investors said “The disposal of GranCasa, Max Center and Valle Real is in line with the strategy of the CBRE Retail Property Fund Iberica to optimize the weighting of its portfolio with a focus on core assets. We are very pleased with the outcome of this transaction and the returns achieved for our investors after years of active asset management of all three shopping centres”.
JLL, CBRE, Deloitte, Mace and Pérez-Llorca advised Sierra Fund and CBRE Global Investors, on the other hand Uría Menéndez, KPMG and Hill International advised Sonae Sierra and Peter Korbačka.
