The CMS Serbian and Austrian team has advised the sell-side, UK-based Poseidon Group and Belgium’s Mitiska REIM, on the divestment of their entire portfolio of retail parks in Serbia to Austria’s Immofinanz AG. The portfolio consists of four retail parks located in the cities of Zaječar, Leskovac, Sombor and Šabac, covering the total GLA of 28,200m2. Major tenants include the supermarkets Tempo and Maxi (Delhaize Serbia), as well as leading international retailers such as C&A, Deichmann, DM, H&M, Intersport and Jysk. The retail parks in Zaječar and Sombor are both adjacent to Lidl supermarkets.
In addition to the Serbian deal, Mitiska REIM simultaneously agreed with Immofinanz AG on selling two more retail parks in the Czech Republic.
Marija Tešić, the Corporate/M&A partner at CMS, says: “Working on this M&A transaction in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic was a rather unusual set-up, but thanks to the hard work and professionalism of all parties involved we reached this milestone.”
Ivan Gazdić, the Real Estate partner at CMS, adds: “Retail parks seem to be the type of commercial real estate the least affected by the 2020 crisis. This transaction proves that sustainable real estate assets are always attractive to investors. I am happy that I had the opportunity to assist Poseidon Group and Mitiska REIM in their investments in Serbia - from entering the market back in 2012, through the development of all of their real estate projects up to the completion of the latest transaction with Immofinanz.”
Alexander Rakosi, the Corporate/M&A partner at CMS, comments: “We are very pleased to have been able to successfully support our clients in the completion of their value chain program amidst challenging market and transactional conditions; this underscores our commitment to and expertise in rendering high-quality cross-border legal M&A services.”
The multi-jurisdictional CMS team further consisted of Milica Popović (Partner, Banking & Finance), Maja Stepanović (Partner, Corporate/M&A), Anja Tasić (Attorney-at-law, Competition), Jelena Đorđević (Attorney-at-law, Corporate/M&A), Igor Đorđević (Attorney-at-law, Real Estate), Marie-Christine Lidl (Attorney-at-Law, Corporate/M&A), Sibylle Novak (Partner, Tax) and Daniel Kropf (Attorney-at-law, Tax).
About Mitiska REIM
Mitiska REIM is headquartered in Belgium and is Europe’s leading specialist investor in retail parks and convenience centres, offering convenient shopping, ample free parking and affordable infrastructure. Properties typically offer a mix of necessity-driven retail brands, anchored by a major food store which drives daily footfall.
About Poseidon Group
With its SEE local teams and network of offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia, Poseidon Group strives to become the leading regional retail park operator. Established in 2001 in London, it employs more than 200 people globally. Currently valued at EUR 1.2 billion, the Group is actively exploring co-investment partnerships in its UK and SEE projects with investors worldwide.
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