Popoviciu sees his deal to buy a mall in Oradea challenged

"Euromall Real Estate Developer" challenged the call for tenders by which "Shopping Center Holding" SRL, a company controlled by Puiu Popoviciu, acquired the bankrupt mall developed in Oradea by "MLS Proiect Oradea". The deal was made at the end of June, for 30.5 million Euros, plus VAT.

Andreea Anghelof, the representative of "Transilvania Insolvency House", the bankruptcy trustee of "MLS Proiect Oradea", said: "Euromall Real Estate Developer did not file the papers required according to the rules of the call for tenders for the preliminary selection. As a result, only Shopping Center Holding participated in the call for tenders. Euromall filed a contestation as part of the bankruptcy proceedings of MLS Proiect Oradea, which will be reviewed on August 20, by the Court of Bucharest".

Mrs. Anghelog said that "Shopping Center Holding" SRL needs to pay the full price for the mall of Oradea by August 18th, when the 60 day deadline agreed upon through the auction expires.

Four years ago, the Irish of "MLS Proiect" were planning to build seven malls in several Romanian major cities.

Their lenders and the onset of the crisis overturned their plans, as the Irish were forced to sell their first project, the one in Oradea, in order to pay off their debt, to Puiu Popoviciu, one of the most important players on the Romanian real estate market.

The real estate project of Oradea, which is nearly 85-90% complete, comprises a plot of land of nearly 70,000 sqm and a building with basement, ground floor, one floor and roof structure.