Citycon buys Norwegian shopping center owner for €1.5b

Helsinki-based Citycon Oyj has acquired Sektor Gruppen, Norway’s second-largest shopping center owner and manager, for €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion).

The acquisition consolidates Citycon as one of the largest listed shopping center specialists in the Nordic region and the third-largest listed continental European operator with a gross asset value of €4.9 billion ($5.3 billion).

Citycon is seeking shareholders’ approval for the rights issue in an extraordinary general meeting, which is scheduled for June 15.

Citycon is a subsidiary of Israeli commercial real estate group Gazit-Globe Ltd., which has a 43 percent shareholding in the company. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owns a 15 percent shareholding in Citycon.