Unibail-Rodamco In €715M Simon Ivanhoe Deal

PARIS-French-Dutch shopping centre REIT Unibail-Rodamco, the largest listed property company in Europe, has confirmed speculation it will buy part of Simon Property Group’s portfolio in Europe. It announced an agreement to pay €715 million for Simon Ivanhoe, a jointly-held unit of Simon, the largest US retail mall REIT, and Ivanhoe Cambridge.

Simon Ivanhoe holds shares in seven shopping centres in France and Poland. Unibail-Rodamco has also entered a JV agreement for Simon and Ivanhoe Cambridge to jointly retain 50% interests in five French retail development projects, which it will now develop. CEO Guillaume Poitrinal told The Figaro newspaper the transaction total is €715 million, and the firm said it will fund the acquisition from existing bank facilities. “This transaction represents a unique opportunity to reinforce our presence in the large shopping centre segment, in French and Polish capital cities,” he added in a statement.