MOSCOW, February 23 (RIA Novosti) - A real estate fund managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI) has acquired the Metropolis Shopping and Entertainment Mall in northwest Moscow, Morgan Stanley said.
The US financial giant declined to disclose the terms of the deal but said in a statement on Friday that it was “the largest-ever transaction in the Russian commercial real estate market.”
Real-estate experts in Moscow estimate the price tag on the luxurious 205,000 sqm shopping center developed by Capital Partners at about $1.2 billion.
Metropolis opened in 2009 and houses over 250 retail outlets and restaurants, a bowling alley as well as a multi-screen cinema operated by Cinema Park Deluxe.
Major tenants include food hypermarket Karusel and department store Stockmann, along with a large number of international retailers including Michael Kors, H&M, GAP, River Island, New Look, DKNY, Bebe, Jaeger, Uterque, Imaginarium, and Zara.
It is Morgan Stanley’s second major acquisition of prime retail space in Russia in a year as high oil prices continue to fuel a spending boom and economy growth in the country.
Last year, the US bank bought the Galeria Mall in the center of St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, for estimated $1 billion.
Moscow and St. Petersburg account for about 12 percent of Russia’s population of 143 million.
