Nordic retail specialist ICA Real Estate has formed a joint venture with Swedish pension fund Alecta to initially acquire a hypermarket portfolio valued at slightly more than SEK 2 bn (EUR 216 mln).
Nordic retail specialist ICA Real Estate has formed a joint venture with Swedish pension fund Alecta to initially acquire a hypermarket portfolio valued at slightly more than SEK 2 bn (EUR 216 mln).
The portfolio consists of 12 Maxi ICA hypermarket in Sweden. ICA previously announced that it planned to form a new property company with an outside investor.
The joint venture company, which is jointly owned by ICA and Alecta, will seek to acquire, own and manage ICA stores in strategic locations. Catella Corporate Finance served as adviser in the transaction.
'By forming a property company together with a long-term, financially strong investor like Alecta, we retain ICA's influence in these strategic marketplaces while at the same time improving opportunities for ICA's core businesses. The capital that is freed up facilitates further investments in ICA Real Estate's retail network in order to maintain and strengthen ICA's market position,' said Bo Liffner, CEO of ICA Real Estate.
The 12 properties that will be acquired by the joint venture are located in Borlänge, Botkyrka, Enköping, Falun, Karlstad, Malmö, Oskarshamn, Ronneby, Sandviken, Södertälje, Torslanda and Vetlanda.
This is the second major real estate transaction in Sweden this week in which Catella played an advisory role. Catella Corporate Finance also advised on the acquisition by Norwegian insurer Vital Forsikring of the 50% stake it did not already own in Stockholm's massive Kista Galleria. The shopping centre is believed to be valued in excess of EUR 430 mln.
