Apollo purchases shopping centers for EUR 700 million

U.S. real estate fund Apollo is completing the largest property investment deal ever made in Poland with the acquisition of 28 shopping centers and free-standing stores for over EUR 700 million. "Poland will have one of the fastest economic growth rates in the European Union over the next five years. Consumer demand growth will be above the EU average. Basic consumer goods and food are the right places to pitch our investment," Apollo's managing director William Benjamin told journalists at the MIPIM international property fair in Cannes. The properties purchased for the Apollo International Real Estate Fund in a joint venture with Rida Development Corporation of Houston, are being leased by Polish retailers owned by Germany's Metro group.