Gazit-Globe lifts stake in Atrium to 40%

Property group Gazit-Globe is investing €88 mln to buy over 20 million shares in listed shopping centre group Atrium European Real Estate.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Tel Aviv and New York-listed company said it has entered into an agreement with a consortium managed by Citi Property Investors CEE Management to purchase the shares at a price of €4.3 each in an off-market transaction.

The stock represents around 5.5% of Atrium's share capital and brings Gazit-Globe's interest in the company to nearly 40%.

Upon completion of the acquisition, vendor group CPI will hold 52 million ordinary shares in Atrium or just less than 14% of the company. Gazit-Globe and CPI will continue to jointly control Atrium with 53.8% of its voting rights.

'We are pleased to be increasing our strategic stake in Atrium in light of its excellent management and business prospects,' said Roni Soffer, president of Gazit-Globe. 'Atrium, which is active in Central and Eastern Europe with a primary focus on Poland, has become over the last few years one of the strongest and most stable real estate companies in the region.'

Gazit-Globe is one of the largest owners and operators of supermarket-anchored shopping centres with a global portfolio of 6.7 million m2 valued at over $20 bn.