Düsseldorf Arcaden, Düsseldorf, Germany
Montreal, Quebec – Ivanhoe Cambridge has just acquired a 92.5% interest in the Düsseldorf Arcaden shopping centre currently being built in the Düsseldorf district of Bilk. The transaction will represent an investment of some CAD$249.3 million (€173.5 million). Construction started in October 2006. The centre is slated to open to the public in fall 2008. Management für Immobilien AG (mfi AG), Ivanhoe Cambridge’s development and management partner in three other projects in Germany, will develop Düsseldorf Arcaden on behalf of the joint venture.
Düsseldorf Arcaden will be an important element in the overall concept of a full-fledged district development project aimed at revitalizing obsolete inner-city industrial lands. The overall concept will also comprise a district town hall, a community centre and a public swimming pool that will be built by the City of Düsseldorf. Furthermore, some 100 apartments and a large park are included in the project plans. Roughly 100 businesses, service companies, cafes, restaurants and fashion retailers, along with a large supermarket and consumer electronics store, are planned for Düsseldorf Arcaden. About 850 parking spaces will be created.
This is Ivanhoe Cambridge’s fourth investment in Germany with partner mfi AG. Ivanhoe Cambridge entered the German market at the end of 2005, acquiring a 92.5% interest in Zwickau Arcaden and a 94.8% interest in Paunsdorf Center (Leipzig) as well as a 92.5% interest in Wilmersdorfer Arcaden, a project currently being developed in Berlin.
About Ivanhoe Cambridge
Ivanhoe Cambridge is a recognized leader in the Canadian real estate industry. It is one of the country’s pre-eminent property owners, managers, developers and investors. The Company focuses on high-quality shopping centres located in urban areas. Beyond its strong Canada-wide presence, Ivanhoe Cambridge is also active in the United States, Brazil, Asia and Europe – where it partners with several prominent real estate entities. Its real estate portfolio consists of more than 43.2 million square feet of retail space and includes some 65 regional and super-regional shopping centres. As at December 31, 2005, the market value of Ivanhoe Cambridge’s assets was CAD$9.3 billion.
Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Ivanhoe Cambridge is a principal real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the largest institutional fund manager in Canada. Amongst its shareholders, the Company also counts four prominent Canadian pension funds.
About Management für Immobilien AG
Management für Immobilien AG, Essen, has made a name for itself both nationally and internationally as a developer and manager of downtown shopping arcades. It offers a full range of real estate project development services, including general planning, realization, leasing and centre management and, most recently, asset management. mfi AG is the co-owner of all the shopping centres it has developed and it manages them to ensure that the properties maintain and increase their value. Since it was founded in 1987, mfi has developed and managed roughly 1.5 million square metres of commercial and retail space. An additional 450,000 square metres is currently in the planning or construction stage. The project volume of the properties launched on the market and managed in the long term by mfi amounts to more than €3 billion.