|
EBRD, BSR Europe create property joint venture for Eastern Europe
The EBRD is investing €35 million alongside Israeli property developer BSR
Europe to create a real estate joint venture (JV) to develop projects in nine
eastern European countries.
BSR Europe will invest around €50 million, while other investors will provide
a combined €30 million in equity in partnership with the JV, bringing the
total investment potential to €115 million. The JV, yet to be named, will
redevelop, develop, manage and own real estate in capital cities as well as
smaller towns and cities across the nine countries - Bulgaria, Croatia,
Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine. The funds
will be invested gradually over the coming years in projects that will be
introduced to the JV by BSR.
Ilaria Benucci, EBRD Director for Property and Tourism, said the Bank is
helping to support the regional expansion of a successful developer in real
estate markets across eastern Europe, especially in less developed regions and
countries. As well as building new residential property, the joint venture
will invest in retail, offices, and industrial parks, which will have obvious
attractions for local and foreign businesses, said Ms Benucci. The EBRD equity
is specifically designed to supply additional equity resources into regions
where such financing is scarce, she added.
Established in 1999, BSR Europe is listed on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange, and
is already active - through 22 projects - in the Czech Republic, Hungary
Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Georgia. The company
is currently involved in developing around 12,000 residential units in seven
countries in the region worth more than €1 billion.
Kalman Sufrin, BSR Europe’s Co-founder and Chairman of the Board, said that
the joint venture formed with the EBRD is a vote of confidence in BSR’s
capabilities and experience and is a remarkable mile stone in the processes of
BSR becoming the dominant real estate developer in Central and Eastern Europe.
The EBRD is the largest single investor in central and eastern Europe and the
Commonwealth of Independent States. In the property and tourism sector alone,
as of the end of June 2006, the Bank has invested €1.1 billion in 60 projects.
|
