Stockholm-listed Cibus Nordic Real Estate has purchased 34 grocery stores in Scandinavia across separate deals amounting to €127.2 million.
The company has reached an agreement with ATP Ejendomme to buy a portfolio of 31 grocery stores across Denmark for approximately €118 million.
As part of the deal, 22 stores will be acquired immediately, while the remaining nine will be acquired in early February 2025, subject to tenants' right-of-first-refusal, the company added.
Cibus will finance the acquisition with a combination of its own funds and bank loans, aiming for a loan-to-value ratio of around 50%.
The portfolio, with 36,200 square metres of rentable space, is primarily occupied by grocery chains REMA 1000 (17 stores), Salling Group/Netto (10 stores), and Coop Danmark (four stores).
The portfolio spans across key regions in Denmark, including Jutland, Fyn, and Zealand. While three properties are currently vacant, lease agreements remain in place, generating income for an average of 5.6 more years.
Other Acquisitions
Cibus has also acquired two grocery stores in Sweden and one in Norway spanning 6,900 square metres of lettable area, for an overall property value of €9.2 million.
The acquisitions include a Bunnpris grocery store in Randaberg, Norway; a Willys grocery store in Bollnäs, Sweden; and an ICA grocery store in Habo, Sweden.
Additionally, Cibus has divested a Coop grocery store in Ängelholm, Sweden, for €1.7 million.
Cibus owns a portfolio of over 450 grocery-anchored properties across the Nordic region, leased to major retailers such as Kesko, Tokmanni, Coop Sweden, S Group, Dagrofa, and Lidl.
Benelux Expansion
Additionally, Cibus has confirmed it is in talks to acquire Forum Estates, a Benelux-based owner of food and grocery properties.
Forum Estates owns 149 properties with approximately 276,000 square metres of rentable space, valued at around €508 million.
Major supermarket chains like Carrefour, Jumbo, SPAR Colruyt, Lidl, and Albert Heijn are key tenants in the portfolio.
This acquisition is expected to establish Cibus as a pan-European player in the grocery and daily goods property sector.
Cibus shareholders will need to approve the deal at an extraordinary general meeting. If approved, the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025.
