US private equity investor Oaktree Capital Group has bought the Square, a shopping centre in south Dublin, Ireland from Nama for a reported €250 mln.
Delaware-registered Oaktree was given the green light by the Irish competition authorities at the start of February to purchase Indego Limited, the Irish-incorporated company which has an indirect interest in the Spare Management Limited, the management company and freeholder of the asset.
Located in the Tallaght district, the 53,602 m2 Square is anchored by Dunnes Stores, Tesco and Debenhams.
According to the Irish Independent, the sales price was €250 mln, nearly €20 mln above the €233 mln quoted by joint agents JLL and Cushman & Wakefield when they brought the Square to market six months ago. It is likely to be Irish bad bank Nama's final disposal of a major single asset.
Oaktree is buying Indego with its 90% interest in the Square using a company incorporated in Luxembourg called OCM Luxembourg Square Retail Sarl, which will be controlled by Oaktree.
Indego owns 118 out of the Square's 160 shop units, a 13-screen cinema with 13 digital screens and over 2,400 parking spaces.
At the height of the market in 2007 the scheme, developed by Derek Quinlan's Quinlan Private, was valued at €640 mln.
AIB Real Estate Finance part-financed the deal.
