MAS Real Estate has decided to build its own team to manage its east European assets instead of relying on Prime Kapital (PK), the group which has been developing and managing MAS's assets in Romania and elsewhere.
MAS CEO Werner Behrens said the company would now buy assets directly in central and eastern Europe and employ people to create asset management capacity in the region. It would also continue with its development relationship with Prime Kapital.
“MAS remains committed to its strategy of continued expansion into central and eastern Europe and will look to invest directly as it grows its asset management capability in the region. MAS will further continue to benefit from the relationship with PK through the exclusive development joint venture, as well as the existing portfolio that is managed in the investment joint venture,” he said.
Prime Kapital was co-founded by Martin Slabbert, one of the founders of New Europe Property Investments (Nepi), which later merged with Rockcastle, to become the largest shopping-centre owner in eastern Europe
MAS had originally announced that it had entered into a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with Prime Kapital to acquire a call option to purchase its the company's effective 20% interest in the investment joint venture, together with the PK management platform, that can be exercised between June 30 2022 and June30 2024, at an option premium of€2m.
But on Wednesday MAS updated shareholders saying that this arrangement had been scrapped.
"MAS wishes to advise shareholders that the negotiations with PK have now been terminated without the conclusion of a binding call option agreement," it said. MAS says it remains committed to its strategy of continued expansion into central and eastern Europe and will look to invest directly as it grows its asset management capability in the region.
It will further continue to benefit from the relationship with Prime Kapital through the exclusive development joint venture, as well as the existing portfolio that is managed in the investment joint venture.
MAS's strategy is to divest from Western Europe and to focus on central and eastern Europe.
Prime Kapital's business, PKM, develops properties for a joint venture with MAS. MAS owns 40% of the partnership and PKM owns the balance.
MAS and PKM's total development pipeline is now worth €800m. It includes three residential projects comprising approximately 3,700 residential units in total. Two of the projects are in Bucharest, Romania, with the third in Iasi, Romania.
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