Atrium Arad builder buys half of the mall one day before its opening

Atrium Center mall of Arad, scheduled for opening this afternoon, has changed its shareholder structure just several hours before its opening, with the firm that handled construction works, Arcadom, part of Hungary's TriGranit group, becoming a shareholder with a 50% stake in the wake of a deal worth 6m euros. The development of the Arad-based 70m-euro mall was started by Britain's Carpathian investment fund (75%) and a firm of businessman Michael Israeli (25%). Four shopping centres, in Arad, Cluj, Baia Mare and Satu Mare, were due to be completed as part of this partnership, but the Brits decided to exit the projects of Arad and Cluj. "I, together with several managers of Atrium Centers, bought the shares Carpathian owned in Arad and Cluj projects, and subsequently decided to sell a 50% stake in the Arad mall to the general contractor, Arcadom, in a 6m-euro deal, in which we practically broke even," Michael Israeli, founder of Atrium Center company, told ZF. In the wake of the deal, Carpathian is closer to an exit from the Romanian market, while the construction company of TriGranit is sealing its first acquisition on the Romanian real estate market.