SANTIAGO, Chile - (Business Wire)
Parque Arauco S.A. (Santiago Stock Exchange: Parauco; Bloomberg: PARAUCO:CI), one of Latin America
’s leading shopping center developers and operators, based on gross leasable area (GLA), today announced that it has begun operations in Baranquilla, Colombia in partnership with Conpropriedad to construct a new shopping center. The local group is a division of the Inverandino Organization, one of Colombia
’s leading developers in the industrial and real estate sectors. Under the terms of the partnership agreement Parque Arauco
’s share will be 51% of the company. The project also includes a strategic alliance with Pedro G
ómez y C
ía., the most experienced developer of shopping centers in Colombia.
The shopping center is part of the planned International Center of the Caribbean, a mixed use facility that will serve Barranquilla, Puerto Colombia, Cartagena and other nearby cities. The facility will be the most modern business center in the Colombian Atlantic region and will incorporate high-rise office towers, a five-star hotel, a modern private health care facility and several other services to be developed and operated by other companies. The total constructed area of the shopping center will be more than 210,000 square meters with gross leasable area of more than 80,000 square meters. At completion, the three-story shopping center will have five anchor stores including a supermarket, department stores and a home improvement center, as well as more than 2,800 underground parking places. It will also have entertainment facilities, boutiques, restaurants and an exclusive Boulevard. Conceived by Parque Arauco, Boulevard is a one-stop experience for the whole family including restaurants and entertainment facilities. The total investment for the shopping center is expected to be US$160 million with approximately US$100 million deployed during the first phase of development. The first phase of commercial operation is planned for 2010 and is expected to generate an estimated EBITDA of US$11 million on an annualized basis. Once the shopping center has been fully implemented, it is expected to generate an EBITDA of approximately US$21 million.
Barranquilla is currently the fifth largest city in Colombia with more than 1.8 million residents. It is the main Colombian port on the Caribbean and the leading port of entry to trade from the north. The population of the city is predominantly young.
“The development of this premier shopping center in Barranquilla is an important milestone for our expansion plan in Colombia,” said Andrés Olivos, CEO of Parque Arauco S.A., “Partnering with strong local organizations, the prestigious Inverandino group and Pedro Gómez y Cía., will help ensure that this project successfully contributes to our objective of doubling the leasable surface area of Parque Arauco by 2010.”
This project is the second investment announced by Parque Arauco in Colombia and is part of a US$1 billion investment plan to expand in Chile, Colombia and Peru for the period between 2007 and 2009.
About Parque Arauco S.A.
Parque Arauco S.A, based in Chile, is one of Latin America’s largest developers and operators of retail real estate with more than 600,000 square meters of gross leasable area. Since 1979 the Company has developed, operated, and managed shopping centers throughout Chile. It has a significant stake (31.6%) in the ownership of Alto Palermo S.A. (owner and operator of 10 shopping centers in Argentina) a Buenos Aires Stock Exchange and NASDAQ (NASDAQ:APSA) listed company. Parque Arauco also has a 45% stake in Peru’s Inmuebles Panamericana S.A., owner and operator of one of the largest shopping centers in Lima.
Investor Relations:
Parque Arauco S.A.
Roberto Salas, +56.2.299.0645
ir@parauco.cl
www.parauco.cl
or
MBS Value Partners
Monique Skruzny/Betsy Brod, +1.212.750.5800
Fax: +1.212.661.2268
Monique.skruzny@mbsvalue.com
