Ivanhoe Cambridge buys out Commerz Real’s interest in four malls for $508 million

Ivanhoe Cambridge, the real estate subsidiary of Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, acquired full ownership of malls for $508 million. They are Place Ste-Foy in Quebec City, Galeries Rive Nord in Repentigny, Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria and Mic Mac Mall in the Halifax suburb of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

In a press release, the company said it purchased the 50 per cent interest in the malls held by Commerz Real AG, the real estate unit of German bank Commerz Bank AG, based in Wiesbaden and Dusseldorf. Ivanhoe Cambridge now owns 100 per cent of Place Ste-Foy in Quebec City, Galeries Rive Nord in Repentigny, Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria and Mic Mac Mall in the Halifax suburb of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

"Our $508-million investment, including the assumption of $138 million in debt, will further enhance our national retail shopping platform,” Ivanhoe Cambridge chairman and chief executive officer Daniel Fournier stated in a press release.

"The shopping centres had been acquired in July 2004 and held in the form of a 50 percent joint venture together with Ivanhoe Cambridge," Commerz Real stated in a press release. "At that time, the properties became part of the hausInvest global open-ended real estate fund which merged with hausInvest europa in the fall of 2010. Originally, the portfolio transaction included six properties."

"The other two properties, South Centre Mall in Calgary and Guildford Town Centre near Vancouver, were sold in 2010.

The acquisition comes a week after Ivanhoe Cambridge announced that Kim McInnes, its president of global operations, is leaving the firm on November 30.

"Efforts to recruit a new head of operations have begun and Mr. Fournier will serve as interim head of operations," according to a company press release July 27.

Ivanhoe Cambridge also promoted three of its executives. Claude Sirois is now executive vice-president of commercial investment and emerging markets, Roman Drohomirecki is now executive vice-president of operations for central and western North America and Rita-Rose Gagne is now executive vice-president of strategy.

In June, Ivanhoe Cambridge announced plans to invest $200 into a redevelopment and expansion of the Bayshore Mall in Ottawa. Earlier this year the company sold the York Mills Centre office and retail complex in Toronto to Manulife Real Estate for $161 million.

The company’s properties in Eastern Canada include Devonshire Mall in Windsor, Fairview Mall in Toronto, Oshawa Centre, Vaughan Mills north of Toronto, Fairview Pointe-Claire, Galeries d’Anjou in Montreal and Laurier Quebec.

DCN DIGITAL MEDIA