Rockefeller Eyes Third Property Deal in Bulgaria

A view of a 65-foot-tall sculpture, called “What My Dad Gave Me”, made of replica toy parts by artist Chris Burden in Rockefeller Center in New York, New York, USA, 11 June 2008. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Europa Capital, member of the US real estate company Rockefeller Group, announced it is holding talks for a new property acquisition in Bulgaria, its third in the Balkan country.

"We will have a new deal over the next three months. It will be in Sofia," Chris Bennett, Director-Head of Acquisitions at Europa Capital Emerging fund said at the conference for properties BalREc 2011.

Bennett said the deal price will range between EUR 30-40 M, but refused to disclose the property sector the acquisition belongs to.

Europa Capital entered Bulgaria's market at the beginning of the year by acquiring Retail Park Plovdiv, Plovdiv, from Landmark Property Management. The transaction volume for the investment was EUR 20 M.

In August Europa completed the acquisition of Mall of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria, from GE Real Estate and Avestus Capital Partners. This was the fund's second investment in the country.

The acquisition amounted to a transaction volume in excess of EUR 100 M and was financed by the existing lenders OTP Bank and DSK Bank. Mall of Sofia continued to be managed by Avestus Capital Partners with property management provided by MOS Management.

The real estate fund manager Europa Capital declared its interest in the Bulgarian market as early as in 2007, when it said it is looking at a commercial center in Bulgaria.

After the recession set in, the company was forced to postpone its plans, but in March last year announced its determination to make a comeback in Eastern Europe after an absence of more than two years.

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