A local buyer is reportedly eyeing the US conglomerate’s share in a St. Petersburg shopping mall
US investment bank Morgan Stanley is looking to sell its last asset in Russia, a 50% share in a shopping mall in St. Petersburg, business daily Vedomosti reported on Thursday.
Moscow-based management company TPS Real Estate is one of the potential buyers for the bank’s stake in the Galeria mall, but no agreement has been signed yet, the publication wrote, citing sources.
Morgan Stanley cannot sign a deal with TPS Real Estate directly due to “political risks,” Vedomosti reported as the firm is owned by three Russian billionaires whose names feature on international sanctions lists. The outlet added that the stake would most likely be sold to an entity not connected to the Russian group, and then be transferred to it later.
Neither Morgan Stanley nor TPS Real Estate responded to Vedomosti’s request for comment.
Morgan Stanley bought Galeria, one of the largest shopping malls in St. Petersburg, in 2012 for more than $1 billion. The American conglomerate sold a 49% share in the mall to UAE-based investment fund Mubadala in 2019, in what was described as one of the largest ever retail real estate deals on the Russian market.
After the start of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine last year and ensuing international sanctions, Morgan Stanley joined the exodus of western businesses from Russia and sold its assets, including a 50% share in a shopping mall in Moscow.
TPS Real Estate’s portfolio currently includes six malls located in Moscow, Krasnodar, Sochi, and Novosibirsk.
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