Shareholders in the Italian department store group Rinascente on Thursday finalised the sale of the operational business to Centrail Retail Corporation (CRC), Thailand's largest retail group. The transaction price amounted to EUR 205 mln in cash and the assumption of EUR 55 mln in debt.

The closing follows the approval given earlier this week by the Italian Antitrust authorities.

Rinascente Upim, the operational company of Rinascente, was acquired in May 2005 by a joint venture of Italian private equity firm Investitori Associati (46%), Deutsche Bank's real estate investment management arm RREEF (30%), Prelios (20%), and Maurizio Borletti's Tasso (4%). Following the acquisition, the consortium implemented a turnaround strategy to lift the profile of the then low-end department store chain and was able to double its turnover.

In a statement, Prelios said it is making a capital gain of EUR 28 mln with the disposal, while improving its net financial position by around EUR 31 mln.

With registered office in Bangkok, CRC is the leading operator in distribution in Thailand, and is specialised in the professional management of large warehouses, supermarkets, retail parks and stores. In addition to retail, the group's business also includes property, hotels and restaurants.

The disposal process comes hard on the heels of the sale in March of the Rinascente store in Milan's Piazza Duomo for EUR 472 mln.