Norway malls sold for 247m euros

[BERLIN] Klepierre SA, Europe's second-largest publicly traded shopping mall operator, sold four shopping centres in Norway for 247 million euros (S$420 million) to help finance projects in the Nordic region.

Steen & Strom AS, a company controlled by Paris-based Klepierre, sold 90 per cent of the properties to Partners Group and Sektor Gruppen, according to a statement yesterday. The malls accounted for 1.8 per cent of Klepierre's rental income in the first nine months.

The sale is part of Klepierre's plan to sell some assets and buy others to improve its profitability. Klepierre last year announced a plan to raise 1 billion euros from asset sales by the end of 2013 by disposing of offices to focus on malls. On Oct 23, the real estate investment trust said it had completed or reached agreements to sell 900 million euros of assets since the target was announced.