Russia's largest retail real estate owner, the Swedish Ingka group, is looking for a buyer for all 14 of its Mega shopping centers and plots for new ones.
Source. This was reported by RBC.
Details. Negotiations are still at the initial stage, but there are at least two bidders, several market sources told the publication. The company refused to comment on market rumors.
Ingka owns about 2 million square meters of space, which is almost as much as two other companies in the top 3 sectors – Tashir Samvel Karapetyan and Adamant Vladimir Golubev – combined.
This is an unprecedentedly large asset for the Russian market. Experts of the publication call $5 billion a fair price, and taking into account revenues (according to the estimates of the Russian Forbes, $350 million in 2021), it could be as much as $10 billion.
Traffic in Mega shopping centers fell sharply after the closure of IKEA and the exit of Western brands, which accounted for an abnormally high – up to 50% – share of tenants. The asset, however, remains a high-quality and promising one, RBC writes.
Experts say that it will be possible to sell the shopping centers for $2-2.5 billion, so "unfriendly" companies are no longer allowed to leave Russia without a 50% discount to the asset price, except for a 10% contribution to the budget or installment payments. But this is still a lot, and the centers will most likely have to be put up for sale separately in the regions, the publication notes.
Background. As reported, IKEA will reduce its business in Russia and lay off some employees. The company will also start looking for new owners for its four Russian factories.