Macquarie CountryWide Trust of Australia entered a definitive agreement to sell a majority interest in an 11.5-million-square-foot U.S. retail portfolio to Global Retail Investors, LLC, a joint venture of First Washington Realty, Inc. and California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) for $1.3 billion. The nationwide portfolio contains 86 neighborhood and community shopping centers located across 17 states and the District of Columbia. A large portion of the portfolio is made up of shopping centers that First Washington/CalPERS sold to Macquarie CountryWide in 2005.According to sources familiar with the transaction, the portfolio consists predominantly of A-class and B-class assets, with an occasional C-class center.
In Macquarie’s estimates, the sales price reflects a cap rate of 9.1 percent, based on its estimated NOI for calendar year 2009, which values the entire portfolio at $1.73 billion. The transaction, which will dispose of approximately 80 percent of Macquarie’s U.S. assets, will help the firm eliminate more than $1.1 billion in CMBS debt scheduled to mature in the next few years.
Under the terms of the deal, First Washington/CalPERS will acquire a 60 percent interest in the properties, while Regency Centers Corp., a Jacksonville, Fla.-based retail REIT, will have the option to increase its current stake to 40 percent, from 25 percent. The sale is scheduled to close by the end of this month and will be phased over a two-year period.
“It is a portfolio we know well and one which we believe offers the opportunity for highly attractive growth and returns over time,” said William J. Wolfe, president of First Washington, in a statement.
Other Notable Deals
HREG Genesis sold a 370,000-square-foot portion of the SouthBay Pavilion, a 1.1-million-square-foot regional mall in Carson, Calif., to Vintage Capital Group. Vintage Capital plans to add a 16-screen theater complex to the mall, along with several freestanding restaurants and possibly, a hotel. The firm assumed an existing loan on the property. Faris Lee Investments represented both parties in the transaction…. Colliers International’s newly launched Asset Preservation Services practice group won the management assignment for 20 former Mervyn’s locations in California…. Centro Properties Group sold Chestnut Hills, a 68,364-square-foot shopping center in Murray, Ky., to P&M Investments LLC for an undisclosed amount. Colliers Turley Martin Tucker represented the seller in the transaction. Southeast Venture, LLC represented the buyer…. Colliers Turley Martin Tucker negotiated the sale of a three-building, 25,509-square-foot retail portfolio in Apple Valley, Minn., to Baceline Investments LLC for $3.19 million. Colliers Turley represented the seller in the transaction…. MAC 5 Properties, LLC sold an 8,809-square-foot restaurant in Burnsville, Minn. to Doolittle’s for $1.15 million. Colliers Turley Martin Tucker represented the seller in the transaction…. Gulf Coast Commercial Group, Inc. sold a ground lease on a 0.77-acre freestanding retail auto store in Katy, Texas to a private investor for an undisclosed amount in a 1031 exchange transaction. The store is leased to AutoZone and is located at an intersection that will soon include a large apartment complex and a CVS Pharmacy. Stan Johnson Co. represented the seller in the deal. Capital Real Estate Investments represented the buyer.