Citycon will acquire Iso Omena, one of the largest shopping centres
in Finland, located in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The company
signed today an agreement with funds managed by Doughty Hanson on the
acquisition of the shopping centre for approximately EUR 329 million.
The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of September.
Following the acquisition, Iso Omena will be Citycon's largest
shopping centre, substantially strengthening the company's leading
position in the shopping centre sector in Finland, and in particular
its market position in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, where it will
own eight shopping centres."This is a strategic investment in a first-class shopping centre in
the affluent western part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, where
Citycon already owns several retail properties. The acquisition
provides us with a unique opportunity to increase our market share in
the growing retail sector of the Helsinki region. As a committed,
long-term shopping centre owner, developer and operator, we will
continue actively to redevelop and extend Iso Omena. This centre,
under our management and after two to three years' development phase,
will enhance the synergetic and qualitative dimensions of Citycon's
shopping centre portfolio. The acquisition will be financed with both
existing lines of credit and new financing arrangements. Iso Omena
enjoys an excellent strategic location both today and in the future,"
said CEO Petri Olkinuora.
Completed in 2001, Iso Omena is Finland's fifth largest modern
shopping centre. Its gross leasable area is 61,300 square metres, of
which 49,000 square meters are retail premises. In addition, the
shopping centre has the potential to be further expanded by 7,000
square metres. Iso Omena provides a broad range of services and
accommodates over 120 stores and restaurants. The centre's anchor
tenants are the hypermarkets Citymarket and Prisma, the fashion store
chains Hennes & Mauritz, Kappahl and Dressman as well as a Finnkino
cinema theatre. Grocery sales account for over 60 per cent of the
shopping centre's total sales. The rental value weighted average
lease length is over three years.
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Summary | |
|-------------------------------------------------+----------|
| Leasable area, m2 | 61,300 |
|-------------------------------------------------+----------|
| Of which retail premises, m2 | 49,000 |
|-------------------------------------------------+----------|
| Unexercised building right, m2 (approx.) | 7,000 |
|-------------------------------------------------+----------|
| Total sales for 2006, EUR million | 195 |
|-------------------------------------------------+----------|
| No. of visitors in 2006, million | 8.4 |
|-------------------------------------------------+----------|
| Number of stores and restaurants | Over 120 |
|-------------------------------------------------+----------|
| Number of parking places (of which 86% indoors) | 2,200 |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
Iso Omena is situated in the Matinkylä district of Southern Espoo,
approximately 13 kilometres west of downtown Helsinki, next to the
Länsiväylä highway and the Kehä II ringroad junction. The shopping
centre's excellent traffic connections will be further improved by
the underground to be built in Espoo, the planned location of the
Matinkylä underground station being right next to the shopping
centre. Nearly 150,000 customers live in the shopping centre's
catchment area.
Following the acquisition, Citycon will own a total of 32 shopping
centres in Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Lithuania, with a gross
leasable area of approximately 660 000 square metres.
Helsinki, 14 August 2007
CITYCON OYJ
Board of Directors
For further information, please contact:
Petri Olkinuora, CEO
Mobile +358 400 333 256
Kaisa Vuorio, Vice President, Finnish Operations
Mobile +358 500 667 227
Distribution:
Helsinki Stock Exchange
Major media
www.citycon.fi