July 6 (SeeNews) - Property investment and development group NEPI Rockcastle said on Monday that it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Dutch-registered real estate developer AFI Europe which allows it to resume negotiations for the disposal of its Romanian office property portfolio.
The newly-signed memorandum allows the two companies, under certain conditions, to terminate the ongoing arbitration and enter into a new binding agreement regarding the disposal, based on the pricing and other terms of the original transaction NEPI Rockcastle said in a press release.
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In April, NEPI Rockcastle announced that the disposal of its Romanian office property portfolio was not completed as the buyer - AFI Europe - failed to fulfill some procedures, leading to a breach in the agreement.
The negotiations will be conducted on a without prejudice basis in respect of the arbitration, NEPI added.
In May, NEPI said that it has started procedures to recover the contractual guarantee from AFI Europe.
In December, AFI Europe announced that it has signed an over 300 million euro ($339 million) deal for the NEPI Rockcastle's Romanian office portfolio.
The deal concerned four big office projects comprising eight buildings with a total gross lettable area of 118,500 sq m, located in Bucharest and Timisoara, AFI Europe said at the time.
AFI Europe, a subsidiary of AFI Properties, is a real estate development, management and investment companies operating in Central and Eastern Europe since 1997. AFI Europe operates in Romania since 2005.
NEPI Rockcastle is a property investment and development group incorporated in the Isle of Man which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Euronext Amsterdam. The company is focused on acquiring, developing and managing retail assets in Central and Eastern Europe. Its property portfolio is focused in Romania, Poland and Slovakia. The group has strong presence in Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Lithuania.
($=0.8858 euro)