Carmila to buy shopping centers worth €931m from Unibail-Rodamco

Published: September 29th, 2014

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The French commercial property investor, developer and operator, Unibail-Rodamco SE, confirmed that it has signed an agreement with Carmila, an affiliate of French grocery retailer Carrefour Group, to sell a six shopping center portfolio worth €931m.

The shopping centers include Bay 1, Bay 2, BAB 2, Labège 2, Place d’Arc and Cité Europe.

The deal was announced on July 30 and Unibail-Rodamco stated that the transaction terms are as announced earlier.

Finalization of the transaction is expected prior to the end of 2014 and is subject to normal conditions.

Unibail-Rodamco announced, during February, its intention to dispose of €1.5bn to €2bn of shopping centers over the next five-year period, to enable them to concentrate on large assets. It stated during July that it would dispose of six non-core shopping centers, which are anchored by Carrefour, and based in France. The company said the proposed transaction would have no effect on its recurring earnings per share growth of a minimum of 5.5% for 2014.

It has been stated that Carmila owns the shopping centers anchored by huge Carrefour hypermarkets and Carmila would have the opportunity to generate generous returns and synergies.

Carmila was created during mid-April by Carrefour and its co-investment partners, with the aim to improve the value of the shopping centers situated next to Carrefour hypermarkets in Italy, Spain and France. Carrefour currently owns 42% of Carmila.

Shares for Unibail-Rodamco were down by 2% or €4.15 in Paris, at €200.10.