First mall sold for 1 euro: Immoeast takes over Polus Center Constanta
Austrian investment fund Immoeast, the real estate investor with
the highest exposure to the local market, where it owns assets
worth almost one billion euros, has bought 85% in the Polus Center
mall project for one euro plus the about 40 million-euro debt of
the developer.
The mall, whose lettable area should reach 50,000 square metres is
still under construction and will most likely be completed in the
first half of next year. Immoeast took over the mall from
TriGranit, controlled by Sandor Demjan, one of the richest
businessmen in Hungary, who also sold the Austrians the Polus
Center project in Cluj for 210 million euros.
"Immoeast took over the project in Constanta entirely for one
euro," real estate market sources told ZF. The Austrians had a
contract in place to buy the mall since 2007, and the initially
negotiated price was 185 million euros for the complete takeover of
the mall upon completion.
The Austrians, however, decided to take over Tripont Invest
company, which was in charge of the development of the project, so
that they would only pay the cost of the construction work so far.
The initial agreement would have seen TriGranit make approximately
50 million euros in profit from the project, whose construction
cost was put at 140 million euros.