Sagax AB (ST:SAGAa) on Friday acquired a 10.8% stake in Belgium-based Retail Estates NV for SEK 1.19 billion, a move that shifts the Swedish property company beyond its logistics roots into retail real estate.
Retail Estates, a real estate investment trust focused on out-of-town retail in the Benelux region, managed a portfolio valued at SEK 22.9 billion as of June 2025.
The portfolio included 1,021 properties with an occupancy rate of 97.5%, a loan-to-value ratio of 44% and a net initial yield of 6.7%.
The purchase price represented a discount of about 14% to Retail Estates’ last reported net tangible assets per share. It also reflected a price-to-EPRA earnings multiple of 10.4 times and an implied net initial yield of 7.2%.
The shareholder base of Retail Estates remains dispersed, with Nextensa holding 9% and Axa and the Belgian state each holding 5%.
Sagax’s presence in the Benelux market had already reached SEK 9.8 billion in property investments by June 30, 2025.
The Stockholm-based company, founded in 1995, specializes in warehouses and light industrial properties.
Its portfolio totaled 4.4 million square meters across more than 900 properties valued at SEK 59.9 billion (€5.3 billion) as of June 2024.
Jefferies, in a note dated Friday, described the acquisition as unexpected, given Sagax’s traditional focus on logistics assets.
The analysts noted that questions remain about Sagax’s longer-term strategy, though they pointed to the company’s leverage as a limiting factor for any full takeover of Retail Estates.
Source :
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/sagax-buys-11-stake-in-belgiums-retail-estates-for-sek-119-bln-4215979
