Businessman Siminel Andrei, chairman of NCH Advisors, a company that manages the local operations of investment fund Broadhurst has decided to sell the Winmarkt network in Romania to Italian IGD group for 182.5 million euros.
As a result of this sale, American investors have reached exits worth 500 million euros, taking into account the deals carried out since the beginning of 2007 alone, when some real estate assets were sold, as were shares in companies like Asirom and Oltchim.
Real estate has been the most profitable by far of all for the funds managed by NCH, considering the sale of Electroaparataj, Tricodava and Electrotehnica factories, of the stake in Cotroceni Park and of 15 Winmarkt shopping centres generated 400 million-euro revenues
Winmarkt shopping centre network is built on the back of former universal stores in cities like Pitesti (Trivale Shopping Center), Ramnicu Valcea (Cozia Shopping Center) and Sinaia (Carpati Shopping Center), as well as in new buildings, and totals 147,000 square metres.
"The sale process was conducted by the BNP Paribas' experts over the last four or five months and 20 potential buyers were involved. In the end, Immobiliare Grande Distribuzione was selected, which has superior expertise in the field," Siminel Andrei told ZF.
Winmarkt network started its development almost 10 years ago, which entailed restructuring 15 companies, aligning structures and sizes, building a sole brand, as well as investments in modernisation, Andrei added.
The average price per square metre in this deal amounted to 1,240 euros, and the yield in euros stood at 10.5% a year, considering the 19.3 million-euro revenues estimated for 2008.
"The joy of a doctor who sees a patient regaining health, of a manager when an organisation works, of the leader when individualities work together for a mutual goal, of the vision that becomes a reality are the equivalent of 10 years of Winmarkt work," Andrei describes the development of the recently sold business.
The deal is not only important because of its financial value, but also because of the current real estate climate, where influences from foreign markets have reached those investors operating in Romania, who have become more reluctant in going ahead with new acquisitions.
After all, no significant real estate acquisition has been made public in the first three months of the year, after 2007 was a record year both in terms of the number and value of the transactions conducted, over 2 billion euros, which takes into account only the big ones.
Last year, NCH announced that it had put up for sale the Romarta stores it had in cities like Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi and Ploiesti.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
