Belgium's WDS in talks to take over EUR 100 mln shopping centre in Romania

Real estate developer WDP, a Belgium-based company engaged in the logistics for warehouse rentals, is reportedly preparing the acquisition of the Expo Market Doraly shopping complex located in Bucharest's outskirts from the local entrepreneur Gheorghe Iaciu and former HSBC bankers.

The transaction is estimated at around EUR 100 million, which will make it one of the largest deals in the local real estate market, according to Profit.ro.

Until recently, the Hungarian group Indotek was in exclusive negotiations to acquire the property but failed to reach an agreement and withdrew from the deal.

Expo Market Doraly, the first of the many wholesale centres that popped up in Romania immediately after the fall of communism, was set up by Dorina and Gheorghe Iaciu in 1993 and became one of the most successful. Recently, it attempted to develop into the modern (online) retail segment.

The business was put up for sale in 2019 as part of the strategy included in the sales contract signed in 2008 with bankers HSBC, who own half of the shopping complex.

The owners of Expo Market Doraly have recently entered into a due diligence process with WDP to buy the commercial complex, according to sources familiar with the deal consulted by Profit.ro.

If it materializes, this will be WDP's first acquisition in the retail sector, as its portfolio is now almost exclusively focused on industrial and logistics properties.

WDP specializes in renting multifunctional warehouses, storerooms, logistics and distribution centres, and industrial real estate located in Belgium and other parts of Europe. Additionally, it organizes warehouses tailored to the user's requirements and designs sale and rent-back operations. Apart from Belgium, the company operates in European countries like the Netherlands, France, the Czech Republic, and Romania.

(Photo source: the company)