EXCLUSIVE: Singapore's GIC takes full control of Roman mall in €200m deal

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC is acquiring the remaining 50% share it does not already own in the Roma Est shopping centre for around €200 mln, or a yield of roughly 6.5%, according to well-informed market sources.

GIC already owns 50% of the scheme near Rome and is exercising a pre-emption right on the other half, which was held by a fund managed by CBRE Global Investors.

Roma Est comprises 92,700 m2 of gross lettable area spread over 208 retail units, a hypermarket, 23 bars and restaurants and a 12-screen cinema.

The mall is arranged over two above-ground levels and has 10 large-area stores of over 1,000 m2 and nine mid-sized units between 500-1,000 m2. It is also served by a three-level car park with 6,000 spaces.

CBRE GI inherited the 50% stake as part of its takeover of ING REIM in 2011 and is believed to have sounded out investors’ interest and pricing levels through a close bidding process before starting negotiations with GIC.

ING Real Estate teamed up with GIC in 2008 to buy Roma Est from Italian food-retailing chain Gruppo PAM for €400 mln. The asset was owned by ING Retail Property Partnership Southern Europe (RPPSE).

CBRE GI completed the acquisition of ING REIM in November 2011.

SALE DRIVE
Roma Est is one of a string of assets put up for sale by CBRE GI in Italy. The group is already seeking a buyer for the I Petali shopping centre in Reggio Emilia. The mall is managed by Multi Development and provides nearly 28,000 m2 of gross lettable space. It was bought by ING REIM (today CBRE GI) in March 2008 for €91 mln.

In Genoa, CBRE GI has just sold the Fiumara shopping centre to German insurance group Allianz and Dutch financial group ING for around €150 mln.

The scheme provides around 25,000 m2 of retail space across 120 retail units over three levels and includes an Uci multiplex as well as a 15,000 m2 amusement park. ING and Allianz signed the preliminary agreement at end-2013.

In Turin, CBRE GI is in negotiations with London-based GWM Group, backed by US asset manager Pimco, to sell the 8Gallery shopping centre in Turin's Lingotto district in Northern Italy.

GWM wants to pay just over €60 mln for the mall, while CBRE GI is hoping to get in the region of €80 mln, according to well-informed market sources.

CBRE GI inherited the 21,500 m2 asset with the acquisition of ING Real Estate which bought it in 2006 for around €92 mln, or a gross yield of 5.5%. Last year, CBRE GI entered talks with Europa Capital but negotiations fell through due to the gap between the vendor's and the buyer's expectations.

The mall includes 90 shops, 14 restaurants and an 11-screen multiplex cinema as well as 4,000 parking spaces.