Portuguese shopping centre owner Sonae Sierra is joining forces with bank assurance group Ocidental to acquire two shopping centres from the Sierra Fund.
Following closing of the deal, Ocidental will hold the majority share in the assets while Sonae Sierra will own a minority interest and will be responsible for the management of the assets.
Financial details were not disclosed.
MaiaShopping and GuimarãeShopping, both located in Portugal, were acquired from the Sierra Fund, a vehicle managed by Sonae Sierra which currently owns 17 properties worth €3.4 bn, according to the company's website.
Ocidental is a major bank assurance group in Portugal. It is part of the Ageas international insurance group.
First opened to the public 20 years ago, MaiaShopping has more than 90 stores spread over 28,252 m2 of Gross Lettable Area (GLA). GuimarãeShopping was inaugurated in 1995 and combines more than 100 stores in 28,819 m2 of GLA.
Fernando Guedes de Oliveira, CEO of Sonae Sierra, commented 'We are very satisfied with this partnership, which we hope won’t be limited to this deal, but will continue into the future, if other opportunities of interest for both parties may arise. Sonae Sierra will maintain its proactive management of the two shopping centres, whilst enhancing value creation and contributing to the objectives of the partnership.'
Nelson Machado, Bancassurance, Life and Pensions CEO, Executive Board of Ageas Portugal, added: 'This partnership aims to acquire property with the objective of holding diversified assets, in line with our acquisition strategy. This is an investment, advised by AG Real Estate, which enables Ocidental to obtain a majority holding in the two assets, and the property management will be under the responsibility of our Partner, Sonae Sierra.'