Madrid, 3 November 2014 – Immochan and Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC) represented by CBRE Global Investors, have entered into a strategic joint venture, with the first investments being joint ownership of two existing shopping centres in Spain and Portugal, in a transaction valued at around €280 million. The transactions are APFC’s first investments in Continental Europe.
Under the partnership agreement, APFC will acquire from Immochan 50% of shares of companies holding these two assets: Zenia Boulevard, a 83,000m2 regional shopping centre located in the province of Alicante and Alegro Alfragide a 39,000m2 shopping centre located in Lisbon. Both Centres are an example of the new generation of high quality shopping centres developed and managed by Immochan. Other investments will potentially be added to the strategic joint venture.
Immochan will continue as property manager. Asset management will be shared between Immochan and CBRE Global Investors.
The transaction is due to close shortly, pending regulatory approvals.
The objective of the partnership for Immochan is to support its growth strategy which includes the development of 70 new shopping centres and extensions over the next three years, with a total investment plan of over €1.7 billion.
CBRE Global Investors was awarded the Continental European separate account mandate by APFC in January 2014. It is an extension of a long standing relationship in the United States where CBRE Global Investors manages a diverse portfolio of assets across North America on behalf of the Fund. The mandate is to build a core/core plus real estate portfolio in Continental Europe.
Mike Burns, CEO and Executive Director, Alaska Permanent Fund commented:
“We are excited about the opportunity to team up with Immochan in our first high quality retail acquisitions in Spain and Portugal. We look forward to expanding this strategic partnership as we work to build out our portfolio across the region.”
Myles Sanger, Portfolio Manager, CBRE Global Investors commented:
“We are seeing a growing trend of cross-border capital flow and with this being APFC’s first investment in Continental Europe, it is another strong indicator of investors looking to diversify their portfolios abroad.
Securing these assets for APFC is a great start for their European allocation. The properties perfectly match their strategy to acquire high quality assets which provide a secure income stream over the long term, while complimenting their existing core portfolio in the US.
”To have also joined forces with Immochan is a very exciting joint venture for us. They are one of Europe’s largest property companies and we are already looking for further ways to develop this relationship.”
Stephane Leverger, Director of Investments and Asset Management, Immochan commented:
“Entering into a strategic joint venture with the Alaska Permanent Fund is consistent with the evolution of Immochan development which aims to build a strong and lasting relationship with public and private investors. We are thrilled to have been able to partner with APFC and CBRE Global Investors in this important operation that holds the promise of bringing future success and development projects for Immochan, the real-estate sub¬sidiary of Groupe Auchan.”
The legal advisors acting on behalf of Immochan were De Pardieu Brocas Maffei, Uria Menéndez, and Garrigues, the real estate advisors and financial advisors were Retail Partners Europe and PWC.
On behalf of Alaska and CBRE Global Investor the legal advisors were Baker Mckenzie and Abreu, and the financial advisors were Deloitte.
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About Alaska Permanent Fund
The Alaska Permanent Fund was created by referendum in 1976 to save a portion of the state’s oil revenue for the future. The Fund is currently worth about $50 billion. In 1980, the Alaska State Legislature created the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation to manage the investments of the Permanent Fund outside of the State Treasury. The Fund is invested in a diverse portfolio of assets, including U.S. and non-U.S. fixed income securities, equities and real estate, as well as infrastructure, absolute return and private equity investments. A portion of the Permanent Fund earnings are distributed to eligible Alaskans, and these dividends have ranged from $331 in 1984 to $2,069 in 2008. In the fall of 2013 dividends of $900 were paid to 650,000 Alaskans.
About Immochan
Immochan is one of Europe’s largest property companies with over 362 shopping centres and more than 2, 3 million sqm of shopping centres under management. Founded in 1976 Immochan is a subsidiary of Groupe Auchan that operates in 12 countries and has over 800 employees across Europe and Asia. The real estate portfolio under its ownership of Immochan has a gross value of € 7, 3 billion the company has a development pipeline of 700,000m2 of GLA. Via its new strategy of investment and development Immochan has the means to achieve its ambitious plans while supporting the development of Groupe Auchan. www.immochan.com
About CBRE Global Investors
CBRE Global Investors is a global real estate investment management firm with $90.2 billion in assets under management* as of March 31, 2014. The firm sponsors investment programs across the risk/return spectrum for investors worldwide.
CBRE Global Investors is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG). It harnesses the research, investment sourcing and other resources of the world’s premier, full-service commercial real estate services and investment company for the benefit of its investors. CBRE Group, Inc. has approximately 44,000 employees in approximately 350 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. For more information about CBRE Global Investors, please visit www.cbreglobalinvestors.com.
*Assets under management (AUM) refers to fair market value of real estate-related assets with respect to which CBRE Global Investors provides, on a global basis, oversight, investment management services and other advice, and which generally consist of properties and real estate-related loans; securities portfolios; and investments in operating companies, joint ventures and in private real estate funds under its fund of funds program. This AUM is intended principally to reflect the extent of CBRE Global Investors’ presence in the global real estate market, and its calculation of AUM may differ from the calculations of other asset managers.
