Echo Polska Properties (EPP) has struck a deal with Blackstone to acquire four retail assets in Poland for €166.6 mln.
The deal, concluded with real estate funds managed by Blackstone, includes shopping centres in the central Polish cities of Kalisz and Wloclawek, as well as assets in Klodzko near the Czech border and Zamosc near Ukraine.
'These shopping centres are dominant within their catchment area and represent a strategic fit in our retail long-term ownership,' commented EPP CEO Hadley Dean.
EPP is a Netherlands-domiciled real estate company structured as a REIT and is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The company was formed around the standing assets of Polish developer Echo Investments and it is now adding new properties acquired from other sources to its holdings.
The latest deal comprises the 23,039 m2 Galeria Twierdza Shopping Centre in Klodzko as well as the adjacent plot with a Broaster Chicken Drive restaurant. The other three malls are Galeria Twierdza Shopping Centre in Zamosc (23,785 m2), Galeria Tecza Shopping Centre in Kalisz (16,003 m2) and Wzorcownia Shopping Centre in Wloclawek (25,629 m2).
The four shopping centres have been managed by Multi Poland since 2014. The centres opened in 2009 (Wzorcownia and Twierdza Klodzko) and 2011 (Twierdza Zamosc and Galeria Tecza), respectively, and boast a diverse tenant mix with anchor tenants across the four assets including LLP Group, H&M, Rossman, Carrefour and Cinema 3D.
EPP will acquire 100% of the equity in the companies, Klodzko Retail, Zamosc Retail, Kalisz Retail and Wloclawek Retail, which own the assets.
The company noted that Twierdza Klodzko and Wzorcownia are the only large modern retail properties in their respective cities. 'EPP is fortunate to already own a portfolio of strong retail and office properties across Poland and the acquisition of these four shopping centres in regional cities is a part of our ongoing strategy to build the company into a "national champion" while delivering double digit growth in dividend per share per annum,' concluded Dean.
The transaction is expected to close in April 2017.
Colliers International and Linklaters acted as commercial and legal advisor for EPP, while JLL and Greenberg Traurig represented the seller.