8th May 2007 08:00
Plaza Centers N.V.08 May 2007 8 May 2007 PLAZA CENTERS COMPLETES SUCCESSFUL HANDOVER OF RYBNIK AND SOSNOWIEC SHOPPING CENTRES TO KLEPIERRE Plaza Centers N.V. ("Plaza" or the "Company"), a leading Central and EasternEuropean ("CEE") emerging markets property developer, announced today that ithas formally completed the successful handover of the Rybnik Plaza and SosnowiecPlaza Shopping and Entertainment centres in Poland to Klepierre SA ("Klepierre"), a leading French property group. Both shopping malls, which were 100% let to international and local tenants ontheir opening to the public in March 2007, were pre-sold to Klepierre in July2005. Owing to the successful letting campaign and the strong market conditionsexperienced in Poland since the pre-sale agreements were signed, the actualclosing consideration, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions, resultedin a higher sum being paid to the Company than disclosed in the Company'sAdmission Document at the time of its IPO in November 2006. The combined marketvalue of the properties now totals €90.1 million, an increase of €18.6 million. The gains from selling these assets will be included in the Company'sforthcoming interim accounts which will also report an updated Net Asset Valuestatement. This is expected to take place in August this year. The Company also anticipates benefiting from valuation uplifts of approximately€7.5 million and €12 million respectively on the Lublin Plaza Centre (Poland)and the Plzen Plaza Centre (Czech Republic) which have also been pre-sold toKlepierre. The formal completion of the handover of these two centres isanticipated to take place in Q2 2007 and Q1 2008, for Lublin and Plzenrespectively. Additionally, Plaza is pleased to report that it has also agreed the sale of theDuna Plaza offices in Budapest, Hungary, to Klepierre for a consideration of€14.2 million, an increase in the value disclosed in the Company's AdmissionDocument at the time of its IPO. The offices are located adjacent to the DunaPlaza shopping and entertainment centre which was sold to Klepierre in July2004. Furthermore, the Company has agreed with Klepierre to proceed with thedevelopment of the extension to the Duna Plaza Centre on an adjacent area ofland, which is anticipated to be completed by 2010. Commenting on the handover agreement, Ran Shtarkman, President and CEO, PlazaCenters N.V. said: "Having fully leased-up and opened the Rybnik and Sosnowiec centres to thepublic in March, we are now delighted to have formally signed the respectivehandover agreements to Klepierre at a higher market value than stated in theCompany's Admission Document. This will provide significant added value for ourinvestors. In the meantime, we are also pleased to have further consolidatedour ongoing relationship with Klepierre by agreeing to extend our development ofthe Duna Plaza Centre on their behalf. "We also expect to realize similar increases in market value at the time ofdelivery of the Lublin Plaza and Plzen Plaza centres, as well as the Arena PlazaMall in Budapest. "The disposal of these assets marks the 22nd and 23rd sales to internationalproperty investors achieved in the last three years. This demonstrates not onlyPlaza's excellent track record of its core business, having accumulated vastexperience built up over more than 10 years but also a leading market positionin the CEE region which attracts leading purchasers for our assets. "Plaza Centers' objective for the upcoming years is to further diversify andenrich the Company's portfolio through the development of high quality shoppingand entertainment centres, such as the Arena Plaza Mall in Budapest which willbe one of the largest and most prestigious shopping and entertainment centres inthe CEE region." For further details please contact: PlazaMordechay Zisser, Chairman +972 3 6086000Ran Shtarkman, President and CEO +36 1 462 7221Roy Linden, CFO +36 1 462 7134 Financial Dynamics +44 20 7831 3113Stephanie Highett/ Dido Laurimore/ Adam Leviton Notes to Editors • Plaza Centers N.V. is a leading emerging markets developer of shopping and entertainment centres, focusing 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 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 been active in real estate development in emerging markets for over 10 years. • Details of the two assets handed over to Klepierre are as follows: - The Sosnowiec Plaza is located 300 metres from the city centre of Sosnowiec and comprises 13,000 sqm of Gross Lettable Area with 400 parking spaces attached. The development was 100% occupied by international and local tenants on its opening. - The Rybnik Plaza is located in Rybnik's city centre and comprises 18,000 sqm of Gross Lettable Area with 470 parking spaces attached. The development is the first shopping and entertainment centre in Rybnik and was 100% let to local and international tenants on its opening. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Plaza