Plaza Centers N.V.
23 October 2007
23 October 2007
PLAZA CENTERS FORMS PARTNERSHIP TO DEVELOP RESIDENTIAL AND OFFICE PROJECTS IN
ROMANIA
Plaza Centers N.V. ('Plaza' or the 'Company'), a leading emerging markets
property developer, today announces that it has entered into a joint venture
partnership with BAS Development ('BAS'), to develop residential and office
projects in Romania. BAS is a private company which is active in the Romanian
property market and which operates primarily in partnership with Aura
Investments Limited, an Israeli investment and management company listed on the
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (AUR.TA).
A newly established company (the 'JV Company'), of which 50.1 per cent will be
owned by Plaza and the remaining 49.9 per cent by the current shareholders of
BAS, will acquire BAS' ownership in five existing residential and office
development projects. The acquisition price of approximately €6.9 million
reflects the initial value of BAS' net interest in the projects. BAS will retain
responsibility for managing these projects.
The five projects are located in three of Romania's largest cities: Bucharest,
Brasov (the gateway to Transylvania) and Ploiesti (56 km north of Bucharest).
Plaza anticipates that these cities are poised for significant growth,
particularly in light of the positive economic impact of the EU on this region.
In the future, the JV Company will work to identify and secure additional
residential and office development opportunities in these and other large cities
in Romania.
Commenting on the deal, Ran Shtarkman, CEO, Plaza Centers N.V. said:
'Our main focus of activity will continue to be shopping and entertainment
centres. However, we believe the opportunity to gain a position in Romania's
fast growing residential and office markets, at little cost and risk to Plaza,
will generate a profitable return as we strive to generate increased shareholder
value.
'We know the Romanian market very well and have a strong local presence. We are
therefore confident that diversifying into additional sectors in this region
will generate significant additional returns. Bucharest, Brasov and Ploiesti are
vibrant cities in excellent locations which we believe will generate significant
value growth. This, in turn, will translate into higher returns for our
shareholders.'
Ends
For further details please contact:
Plaza
Ran Shtarkman +36 1 462 7221
Roy Linden +36 1 462 7105
Financial Dynamics
Stephanie Highett/Lauren Mills +44 20 7831 3113
Notes to Editors
Plaza Centers N.V. (www.plazacenters.com) is a leading emerging markets
developer of shopping and entertainment centres. It focuses on constructing new
centres and, where there is significant redevelopment potential, redeveloping
existing centres in both capital cities and important regional centres. The
Company is dual listed on the Main Board of the London Stock Exchange and, as of
19 October 2007, the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Plaza Centers N.V. is an indirect
subsidiary of Elbit Medical Imaging Ltd. ('EMIL'), an Israeli public company
whose shares are traded on both the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in Israel and the
NASDAQ Global Market in the United States.
Plaza Centers is a member of the Europe Israel Group of companies which is
controlled by its founder, Mr Mordechay Zisser. It has undertaken real estate
development in emerging markets for more than 11 years.
B.A.S. Development B.V., a private company, which specialises in the development
of residential and office schemes, mainly in Romania, under the brand name '
Primavera'.
Aura Investments Limited is an Israeli public company which has been traded on
the Tel Aviv stock exchange since 1993 (AUR.TA). Through its 100% subsidiary,
Aura Europe SA, it is active in the development of 18 residential, office and
retail projects in Romania, Hungary and Kazakhstan. In addition, Aura is active
in the development of over 20 residential projects in Israel.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.