Watchdog to investigate Green Reit’s Central Park deal

The State's mergers watchdog will investigate listed property investor Green Reit's proposed €155 million buyout of the Central Park commercial development in Dublin.

Green announced earlier this week that it plans to buy the 50 per cent of the Central Park office, shopping and apartment complex in Leopardstown Dublin, that it does not own for €155 million from its partner Pimco.

The parties have notified the acquisition to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, which said on Friday that it plans to launch a preliminary investigation into it.

The commission will seek to establish if the buyout will affect competition in the commercial property market. It has up to 30 working days to complete the preliminary inquiry, after which it can move to a phase two investigation, which could take up to three months.

Interested parties have until Friday December 4th to make submissions to the commission regarding the proposed buyout.

When it announced the plan this week, Green acknowledged that the commission would first have to clear it.

Green and Pimco bought the Leopardstown development in 2014 for €310 million. Kennedy Wilson bought a block of apartments in the complex in a separate deal.

Treasury Holdings, the property vehicle controlled by John Ronan and Richard Barrett, originally built Central Park, whose tenants include telecoms group, Vodafone.

Nama subsequently took control of the complex before selling it to Green and Pimco.