The deal, which was signed Friday, will enter into force in the coming months, depending on the meeting of preconditions and approval from the Estonian Competition Authority, Kapitel said. The sides will not be disclosing the volume of the transaction.

"We have been developing Viru Keskus with Pontos since its opening in 2004. Buying their majority stake is the next logical step for us. We will continue developing the mall with our long-time partner Tristafan and will be bringing a financial investor on board at a later date. The professional team at Viru Keskus will remain in place under executive manager Gertti Kogermann," said Taavi Ojala, CEO of Kapitel and a member of the board of Viru Keskus.

A multiyear renovation project was concluded in May of this year, which saw 86 shops and 90 percent of the shopping center's floor area refreshed. Viru Keskus invested over €20 million in the project, while tenants added €15 million for sprucing up their shops. Ojala said that the area around the mall will also be refreshed in the near future, in connection with work to renovate tram lines and streets in the area.

Gertti Kogermann said that the change of ownership will have no effect on tenants and customers.

Viru Keskus, lying on 32,000 square meters and sporting 29,500 square meters of rental space, saw 13.1 million visitors in 2022. The total turnover of its tenants came to €128 million.

Kapitel that already has a 28-percent stake in Viru Keskus is one of the largest real estate groups in the Baltics and manages over 270,000 square meters of rental space. It has stakes in four shopping malls in Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn and five office buildings in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius and Prague. The company owns the Nordic Hotel Forum and a part of Tallink City Hotel in Tallinn. Kapitel is also the developer of the Arter quarter in Tallinn.

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