Multi Corporation, Europe's largest retail developer, confirmed the launch of a multi-billion-euro Turkish retail fund on Thursday as reported by PropertyEU last week. Multi Retail Turkey fund is a real estate development platform consisting of 21 shopping centres that are either completed, under construction or planned throughout Turkey with a projected value upon completion of EUR 4.3 bn. This sum will be financed through a combination of equity and bank facilities.
Multi Corporation, Europe's largest retail developer, confirmed the launch of a multi-billion-euro Turkish retail fund on Thursday as reported by PropertyEU last week. Multi Retail Turkey fund is a real estate development platform consisting of 21 shopping centres that are either completed, under construction or planned throughout Turkey with a projected value upon completion of EUR 4.3 bn. This sum will be financed through a combination of equity and bank facilities.
The fund encompasses Turkey's largest portfolio of retail real estate assets and is the largest publicly announced private equity investment in the Turkish real estate sector in 2008. The fund's portfolio includes the 178,000 m2 Forum Istanbul which, when opened in mid-2009, will be the third largest in Europe.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is the first founding investor with an equity commitment of EUR 250 mln. CPPIB, which manages the C$117.4 bn CPP Fund, is a professional investment management organisation. Multi is also concluding negotiations with the fund's second founding investor to close before year-end and may seek additional investors but said it will retain majority ownership of the fund.
The Multi Retail Turkey fund is focused on downtown locations in cities covering 70% of the Turkish population. Five of the shopping centres are already open and fully leased, while eight others are under construction. Multi Turkmall, Multi's wholly-owned Turkish subsidiary, is the developer. Morgan Stanley is acting as sole financial adviser to the fund.
