CLEVELAND—Forest City Realty Trust (FCEA) and QIC have hammered out the details on a plan announced earlier this year for QIC to take over FCEA's share of a joint venture on 10 regional malls. Along with FCEA's sale of its interest in 12 New York City metro properties to Madison International Realty, announced last month, the deal with QIC will effectively mark the REIT's exit from shopping center retail.

Overall, the portfolio is valued at $3.175 billion, with FCEA's share representing $1.55 billion. The sale of six of the 10 malls is expected to close by year's end, with the remaining four to be transferred to QIC ownership under a fixed-price option as FCEA secure replacement assets or other opportunities into which it will deploy its ownership stakes.

David J. LaRue, president and CEO of FCEA, calls the deal with “a win-win for all parties, as we continue to focus our business on urban residential, office and mixed-use assets.” For Brisbane, Australia-based QIC, the deal—which also includes the transfer of FCEA's retail operating platform—represents an expansion of its US retail presence. “We welcome the Forest City operational staff onto our team and are highly confident that we will be able to replicate our strong Australian operating model here in the US,” says Steve Leigh, managing director of global real estate for QIC, which first JVed with FCEA in 2013.

The six malls expected to transfer to QIC by Dec. 31 are as follows: the Shops at Northfield Stapleton in Denver; Ridge Hill in Yonkers, NY; the Shops at Wiregrass in Tampa, FL; Mall at Robinson in Pittsburgh; Antelope Valley Mall in Palmdale, CA; and South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach, CA. The remaining four malls are: Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, CA; Galleria at Sunset in Henderson, NV; Promenade Temecula in Temecula, CA; and Short Pump Town Centre in Richmond, VA. One additional mall, Charleston Town Center in Charleston, WV, was originally part of the negotiations, but QIC decided not to acquire FCEA's ownership interest.