Real estate fund NEPI raises EUR 100 mln for new projects in Romania and Serbia

South-African real estate investment fund New Europe Property Investments (NEPI), one of the largest investors in Romanian properties over the last five years, raised another EUR 100 million from investors on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), on Wednesday, October 22, the fund announced. The money will be used to finance NEPI’s recently announced acquisitions in Romania and Serbia, its development and extension pipeline, as well as any future acquisitions. The fund initially announced it wanted to draw EUR 80 million, but the offer was oversubscribed. NEPI’s most recent acquisitions in Romania are Aurora Shopping Mall in Buzau and Alba Iulia Strip Mall, for which it paid some EUR 10 million. The fund plans to invest an additional EUR 6 million to refurbish and reconfigure the mall in Buzau, which includes the construction of a cinema. NEPI also acquired its first mall in Serbia, Kragujevac Plaza, for EUR 38.6 million. “Further acquisitions are being considered, including a regional shopping center in Slovakia and a newly built mall in Bucharest. Subject to the completion of satisfactory due diligence investigations and detailed legal agreements, one of these properties is expected to be acquired shortly,” NEPI said in a note to investors on Monday. Romanian media recently reported that NEPI is negotiating the takeover of Promenada mall in Bucharest. The mall is located in Bucharest’s main office district and was opened only one year ago (October 2013). NEPI also opened two new shopping centers in Romania in the last two months, Vulcan Value Center in Bucharest and Shopping City Targu Jiu, in South-Western Romania. The fund is currently working on its largest mall in Romania, Mega Mall, located in Eastern Bucharest, which is expected to be opened in the second quarter of 2015. The fund’s project pipeline also includes a regional mall in Timisoara and an office building in Bucharest, next to the Government’s building. To finance its projects, NEPI also analyzes an international bond issue.