After months of speculation, the sale of South Africa’s most popular tourist destination, the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, was confirmed on Monday
JSE-listed property company Growthpoint and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) announced their intention to make a joint acquisition of Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, Growthpoint said in a stock exchange news service announcement.
Two sources close to the deal told the Mail & Guardian that the deal is valued in the region of R9,7-billion.
Valuable piece of real estate
The announcement said that Growthpoint and the PIC will be acquiring 100% of the interests held by Strawinsky Properties BV and Istithmar South Africa in Lexshell 44 General Trading, the majority shareholder in the Waterfront.
According to the announcement the deal also makes “provision for the acquisition of the remaining ordinary shares held by Lexshell’s empowerment shareholders”, and that on the completion of the transaction the PIC and Growthpoint intend to own 100% of Lexshell.
The V&A Waterfront ranks as South Africa’s number one tourist destination, and is almost certainly the country’s single most valuable piece of real estate. It was controversially privatised in September 2006 by Transnet, which sold the site for R7-billion.