Media: Romanian entrepreneurs may buy EUR 150 mln office park from Israeli billionaire

Romanian entrepreneurs Dragos and Adrian Paval, the owners of the biggest local DIY retailer – Dedeman, are preparing to buy the five AFI Park office buildings in Bucharest, according to sources in the real estate market quoted by local mergers and acquisitions journal Mirsanu.ro. The two investors have already signed a letter of intent for the purchase of the office buildings, which have been developed by AFI Europe, a company controlled by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, according to sources quoted by local business news website Profit.ro. The deal hasn't been signed yet. The five office buildings, which are located around the AFI Palace Cotroceni mall, also owned by AFI Europe, were valued at EUR 154 million, according to the company’s most recent reports. AFI Park has 70,000 sqm of leasable office space and is almost fully leased. Most of its tenants are companies in the IT sector, as the compound is very close to the Bucharest Polytechnic University, the Romanian capital’s main supplier of IT specialists. The Israeli group, which finalized the AFI Park 4&5 office buildings last year, plans to sell the whole project to finance new developments in Romania, including a new office park, AFI Tech Park, near the JW Marriott hotel in Bucharest, and a mixed retail-office project in Brasov. The group also plans to start new developments in Arad and Northern Bucharest. Dragos and Adrian Paval plan to launch to investment funds, one specialized in real estate and another one specialized in financing entrepreneurial companies in Romania. They want to invest in a real estate portfolio as a safety net for when the DIY retail sector may see a decline, Dragos Paval recently said in an interview for Profit.ro. Dedeman is the biggest entrepreneurial company in Romania, with a turnover of close to EUR 1 billion and a net profit of EUR 126 million, in 2015. Between 2010 and 2015, Dedeman made cumulated net profits of over EUR 420 million, according to official data from the Finance Ministry. Dedeman has 45 stores, two logistic centers, and over 9,200 employees in Romania. Romanian DIY retailer Dedeman ups turnover by 26% editor@romania-insider.com