Real estate investor MAS sells EUR 400 mln of shopping malls in Romania, Bulgaria

Johannesburg-listed real estate investor MAS (JSE: MSP) announced it reached a binding agreement to sell its six open-air shopping malls in Romania, with a combined gross leasable area (GLA) of 125,000 square metres, at a value of EUR 281 million. The buyer is AFI Europe, a leading owner of retail and office properties in Central and Eastern Europe controlled by Israeli billionaires Roni and Yehuda Naftali, which thus marks its largest deal on the local market.

The transaction will propel AFI Romania directly to second place among the largest shopping centre owners in Romania, after NEPI Rockcastle and surpassing Iulius Group of local entrepreneur Iulian Dascălu, according to Profit.ro.