All Nordics
Sweden
Denmark
Finland
Norway
The transaction, which is expected to close in September 2016, is valued at approximately SEK 3.1 billion (about €330 M). The assets in the sale include:
- Arninge, Täby
- Bäckebol, Göteborg
- Boländerna, Uppsala
- Jägersro, Malmö
- Tunapark, Eskilstuna
- Weibullsholm, Landskrona
Starwood Capital Group, via a controlled affiliate of Starwood Distressed Opportunity Fund IX (SOF IX), in November 2013 purchased a portfolio of seven retail assets in prime locations throughout Sweden from Kooperativa Förbundet (KF), owner of the country’s second-largest supermarket chain, Coop. The transaction was Starwood’s first investment in Sweden. SOF IX and Vencom continue to own one asset from the portfolio—Bromma Blocks in Stockholm.
“We are pleased that these retail assets have benefited from the steady growth of the Swedish economy and strong retail sales, as projected in our investment thesis,” said Richard Vaaje, Vice President at Starwood Capital Group.
“During the years under our ownership, we have worked to actively develop these assets to create value,” added Johan A. Gustafsson, Chairman of Vencom. “In particular, we focused on enhancing Arninge, where the municipality of Täby is currently processing a building permit of 18,000 square meters, as well as Bäckebol, where we acquired a nearby asset of 30,000 square meters of land, which has been partially sold to the listed grocery store company ICA. We also created and initiated a plan for the redevelopment and repositioning of Jägersro Centre.”
Cushman & Wakefield, Mannheimer Swartling and PwC acted as advisors on the transaction.
