Egypt based Sixth of October Development & Investment Company S.A.E. (“SODIC”), and MAS Economic Group (“MAS”) of Syria announced that SODIC will invest U$40.5 million to acquire 50% of MAS’ subsidiary Palmyra Real Estate Development Company ( the “Company”) a leading Syrian real estate developer with a 2.6 million sqm land bank strategically located in Syria’s major population/touristic centers of Damascus, Aleppo and Lattakia. The Company will be called Palmyra-SODIC, with Mr. Firas Tlass, MAS’s Chairmain & CEO, remaining chairman of Palmyra while SODIC will be responsible for the Company’s management. The Company plans to launch a new residential project with commercial components in the suburbs of Damascus in the first half of 2011 and fast track the execution of its existing Tilal Al Yasmin project. EFG Hermes Syria acted as sole financial advisor for this cross-border transaction. Zulficar & Partners of Egypt & International Legal Bureau of Syria acted as legal counsels to SODIC on the transaction.
The Transaction was executed through a combination of a direct acquisition by SODIC of 40% of the Company’s outstanding capital, and a capital increase of US$15.2 million into the Company for the remaining 10%. Palmyra-SODIC will tap into SODIC’s real estate expertise as well as MAS’s established knowledge of the market to develop various projects addressing a number of market segments, including residential, commercial, & retail.
Palmyra’s only existing project is a residential compound under the name of “Tilal Al Yasmin”, located in Kafr Kouk, Yaafour (Damascus outskirts) one of the most highly coveted areas in the suburbs on a land plot of some 200,000 sqm. The project comprises 169 villas of three different sizes for which demand has been quite strong with the first phase of the project selling 78 units within days of launch, the project is currently under construction and expected to be delivered by early 2012. The new project to be launched in H1 2011 sits on a land area in excess of 500,000 sqm in close proximity to Tilal Al Yasmin. The project is currently in its master-planning phase and is planned to be a residential project with commercial components.
Maher Maksoud, SODIC’s CEO stated “with a population of twenty million, strong economic fundamentals, an underserved real estate market and a strong and reputable partner, we are extremely optimistic about the future of this venture. We believe there’s a lot of value to be generated. We plan to launch several projects over the next 2 years and to fast track the execution of the Company’s existing project.”
Firas Tlass, MAS’s Chairman & CEO stated “The key to successful real estate development is vision for what could be. We believe that SODIC has the right vision for the future and together we have taken a positive step realizing that vision.”
