OREANDA-NEWS. April 06, 2011. SORAINEN advised Citycon, one of the largest regional owners and operators of shopping centres and other retail premises, to acquire Kristiine Shopping Centre in Tallinn. The shopping centre with gross leasable area of 42,600 m2 is Tallinn's second-largest after Rocca al Mare, already in the Citycon portfolio, reported the press-centre of SORAINEN.

"As developer, owner and operator of two shopping centres in Tallinn, Rocca al Mare and Magistral, Citycon welcomes Kristiine to its portfolio. Kristiine is a well-known and successful shopping centre with 170 stores and high quality tenants. It also has strong sales and footfall figures," states Harri Holmstrom, Citycon Oyj's Vice President, Baltic Operations.

SORAINEN also advised Citycon on its purchase of Rocca al Mare centre in 2005 and Magistral in 2007. Following acquisition of Kristiine Shopping Centre, Citycon will own and manage a total of 35 shopping centres and 46 other retail properties in Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Lithuania.

The approx EUR 105 million deal is a landmark transaction not only for being one of the largest-ever real estate transactions in Estonia but also as a sign of new vigour in the market after difficult times.

SORAINEN advised on all stages of the acquisition, assisting in initial negotiations, completing legal due diligence review, preparing transaction documents, handling required corporate matters, and helping negotiate signing of the transaction to completion. Completing the transaction required arduous negotiations so that a wide range of SORAINEN expertise proved necessary. Currently SORAINEN is further advising the client on obtaining merger clearance and the deal is expected to close during the first half of 2011.

"This transaction was a test of our ability to offer constant availability of a large team of lawyers, negotiation power and creative solutions for our client at all hours every day of the week for several months in a row. I am pleased to note that we were able to achieve a great result for our client so that our contribution in preparing and organising such a large transaction has paid off for the client," says Aku Sorainen, senior partner with SORAINEN.

The SORAINEN team was efficiently led throughout by partner Kaido Loor. The team also included senior partner Aku Sorainen, specialist counsel Kadri Kallas, senior associates Paul Kunnap and Leho Pihkva, and associates Indrek Ergma, Kris Tammistu and Priit Lepasepp.