The seller of the two "Sun Paradise" shopping centers was London & Regional Properties, one of the largest private property companies in Europe, based in London. They were represented by the Washington, DC-based law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

"This was an investment sale between two large Western European private equity funds, which is an indication of the growing sophistication of the Russian real estate market," Olga Sirodoeva, the Orrick lawyer who led the transaction, tells GlobeSt.com. "The Russian market is extremely active right now."

Sirodoeva explains that the closing took place in three jurisdictions "because of the peculiarity of deals in Russia. It is customary to sell non-Russian holding companies rather than real estate assets themselves," she says. Sirodoeva's practice focuses on cross-border acquisitions and finance. A substantial part of her practice involves advising multinationals on investing in Russia and Russian companies involved in transactions in the US.

The shopping centers are known as Sun Paradise I and Sun Paradise II. Sun Paradise I, built in 2004, was purchased for about $66 million. The shopping center, which retail tenants selling groceries, domestic appliance and cosmetics services, is located in Solntsevo, in Moscow, close to outer ring road at Borovskoe Highway 6. The shopping center has 97,000 sf of retail and parking for 242 cars.

The price for the Sun Paradise II shopping center, which focuses on consumergoods and food services, was about $43 million. Completed in 2005, the shopping center is located in the center of Ramenskoe in the Moscow region, at Vokzalnaya St 4. It contains 70,000 sf of leasable retail and parking facilities for 120 cars.

Both shopping centers are fully leased. The investments reflect Sponda's growth targets in Russia. Based in Helsinki, Sponda specializes in commercial properties in the largest cities in Finland and Russia.