The properties are located in southern and central Sweden and are rented out with new ten-year triple net agreements with Coop as the tenant. The rentable area amounts to approximately 118,000 square meters. The property portfolio was part of Coops acquisition of Netto's Swedish business during 2019. Cibus and Coop intend to enter into a binding agreement regarding the acquisition prior to the commencement of trading on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market on 5 March 2020, conditioned upon the Company's financing being secured through a directed share issue carried out by way of an accelerated book building procedure. Closing of the Transaction is estimated to take place on 10 March 2020.
The property value of the Transaction amounts to approximately SEK 1,900 million which will be paid in cash in its entirety in connection with the closing, which is estimated to take place on 10 March 2020. When the transaction agreement is entered into (which is estimated to occur prior to the commencement of trading on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market on 5 March 2020) there will be no remaining conditions for the completion of the Transaction.
The Transaction is Cibus' first acquisition in Sweden and is in line with the Company's communicated strategy to increase its property holdings in new geographic areas. Financing of the Transaction consists of a combination of external financing and funds from a directed share issue intended to be carried out by way of an accelerated book building procedure, which will be announced through a separate press release in connection herewith.
"We are very happy to have this opportunity to move into Sweden. The negotiations with Coop have been very constructive and we have agreed on a triple net arrangement which makes this transaction unique in Sweden. We are accustomed to the triple net arrangement from our Finnish portfolio and we are pleased that Coop agrees with us regarding the benefits this arrangement brings for both parties. The transaction is strategically important for us since the properties are relatively newly built and purely built as good-sized supermarkets and we can now continue our successful strategy of acquiring single properties and portfolios that complement this transaction in a new geographic area. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with Coop, who is a large and serious player who focuses on the customer and has a clear sustainability perspective, which are important points for us," says Sverker Källgården, CEO of Cibus.