BNP Paribas REIM's Retail Partnership investment fund is acquire a portfolio of seven Coop hypermarkets and 40 supermarkets across Italy for a total of €250 mln.
The 10year fund was set up in 2013 and has a life of 10 years. It has bought the vast majority of the assets from landlord and occupier Coop Alleanza 3.0, which will continue to operate the properties.
Two Coop hypermarkets were bought from the Wiligelmo fund, managed by Serenissima SGR.
The deals were financed with a €175 mln loan from Banca IMI (Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo), BNP Paribas and ING Italia, advised by law firm DLA Piper. The financing represents a 70% loan to value.
The acquisitions lift the value of the fund's portfolio to around €400 mln, generating €23 mln in annual earnings. The average lease length is 18 years.
The portfolio includes a total of 52 assets encompassing 200,000 m2 of commercial space across the Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Marche and Puglia regions of Italy.
The sales are part of retail group Coop Alleanza 3.0's strategy to extract value from its real estate portfolio to focus on its core retail business.
