By Mario Marroquin
Paris-based commercial real estate firm Unibail Rodamco
Westfield (URW) and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board secured a $700
million refinancing package for a jointly owned retail center in Oberhausen,
Germany, this week.
Allianz Real Estate and Frankfurt-based investment bank Helaba
provided refinancing for the 1.3 million- square-foot (125,000-square-meter)
Westfield Centro retail center. Allianz Real Estate, acting on behalf of a
number of Allianz Group companies and third-party co-investors, provided $406
million in sustainability-linked debt. Helaba, which acted as co-arranger and
agent, provided an additional $305 million towards the retail center.
CPP Investments first acquired a 50% stake in the Bavarian
retail center from Stadium Group in May 2011.
Allianz Real Estate said in a prepared statement that the 1.4
million-square-foot retail center “showed excellent resilience during the
pandemic due to its market position.”
CPP Investments, which held $539 billion AUM at the end of
its fiscal year in March, has also been actively investing in industrial real estate
in South Korea and in U.S. multifamily.
Last week, the pension system announced its first private
equity deal in Latin America for grocery retailer D1 of Colombia. CPP said it
invested $334 million for a 19.3% stake in the retailer, which has opened over
2,000 stores since its founding in 2009.