Centrail Retail Corporation, Thailand's largest retail group, has made a EUR 250 mln offer for the operating company of Italian department store group Rinascente, PropertyEU has learned. The offer includes EUR 205 mln in cash and the assumption of EUR 45 mln in debt.

Rinascente's board is slated to vote on the sale in the coming few days.

Rinascente's opco is 46%-owned by Investitori Associati, with Deutsche Bank's RREEF holding a further 30%, followed by Prelios with 20% and Italian businessman, Maurizio Borletti with the remaining 4%. Borletti has already expressed interest to acquire the operating business and is expected to oppose the sale and exercise his pre-emption right on the company.

The planned 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. The landmark department store was sold to the Ippocrate investment fund, which is majority-owned by the privatised pension fund for Italian doctors and dentists (Enpam) and is managed by Italian fund manager First Atlantic Real Estate.

The consortium is also in negotations to sell the other Rinascente department store at Via del Tritone in Rome for a price of around EUR 260-270 mln.