April 1 (SeeNews) - NEPI Rockcastle said on Wednesday 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 which entitled the sellers to terminate the agreement and claim the contractual guarantee.
The parties discussed an extension of the completion date but failed to reach an agreement under what terms, NEPI Rockcastle said in a press release.
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NEPI said it is currently assessing a suitable course of action and claiming the contractual guarantee provided by the buyer regarding the closing procedures.
According to NEPI, the current restrictions due to the situation generated by COVID-19 did not prevent completion of necessary steps by AFI Europe, as the authorities involved in processing the share transfer were open to the public, and the contractual mechanism allowed for electronic completion.
In December, Dutch-registered real estate developer AFI Europe said it has signed an over 300 million euro ($329 million) deal for the NEPI Rockcastle's Romanian office portfolio.
The deal concerns four big office projects comprising eight buildings with a total gross lettable area of 118,500 sq m, located in Bucharest and Timisoara, AFI Europe said at the time.
AFI Europe, a subsidiary of AFI Properties, is a real estate development, management and investment companies operating in Central and Eastern Europe since 1997. AFI Europe operates in Romania since 2005.
NEPI Rockcastle is a property investment and development group incorporated in the Isle of Man which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Euronext Amsterdam. The company is focused on acquiring, developing and managing retail assets in Central and Eastern Europe. Its property portfolio is focused in Romania, Poland and Slovakia. The group has strong presence in Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Lithuania.
($=0.9115 euro)