Elbit Imaging Ltd. (Nasdaq: EMITF; TASE: EMIT) has entered the US residential market, through an investment in Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd. (ASX: MQG) unit, Macquarie DDR Trust (ASX: MDT). The investment was made by Elbit Imaging's EPN GP LLC and Eastgate Property LLC.
MDT manages two US REITs: Macquarie DDR US Trust Inc., which holds 41 retail properties, and Macquarie DDR US Trust II Inc., which holds 37 properties. The properties, mostly community shopping centers throughout the US, have 13.3 million square feet of leasable space altogether.
EPN was set up by Elbit Plaza USA LP, a joint venture of Elbit Imaging and its subsidiary Plaza Centers NV (LSE:PLAZWSE:WLZ), for the purpose of investing in the US.
EPN was issued, in a private placement, 141.48 million new units of Macquarie DDR Trust, at AU $0.067 per unit, through a private placement of AU $9.5 million (US $8.8 million), for 15% of the trust.
Macquarie DDR Trust also plans to raise AU $200 million (US $185.5 million), in which EPN will participate. This participation will increase EPN's stake in the trust, by an amount which depends on the participation of the other investors.
Elbit Imaging president Motti Zisser said, "In the past 15 years, Elbit Imaging has successfully predicted events on the international markets. We therefore developed and initiated profitable projects in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in the Indian subcontinent. Over a year ago, we identified a similar opportunity in North America as a result of the serious global crisis. We seized the opportunity. After over a year of hard work, we are proud to present our first US enterprise. It is a large-scale and significant transaction, and constitutes an important foundation, which, we believe, will launch lucrative business activity on the US market in the coming years."
Elbit Imaging's share price fell 0.6% on Nasdaq yesterday to $21.98, giving a market cap of $559 million. The share price rose 1% in morning trading on the TASE today to NIS 83.80.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 22, 2010
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