Office building up for sale before completion

The future headquarters of Petrom, the no. 239 Dorobanti office building, is likely to be sold for a sum put at 16-17 million euros, real estate sources told BUSINESS Magazin.

The building, which is located close to Bucharest’s Piata Charles de Gaulle, is being developed by TriNation Management and Development, a company that is involved in several real estate projects. TriNation is part of the Alltrom group of companies controlled by the entrepreneurs Gabriel Popoviciu and Radu Dimofte.

The investment is valued at almost ten million euros.

Companies that have indicated an interest in the building include the Generali group, Europe’s third-biggest insurer, the Irish company Ballymore and Austrian real estate investment fund Immofinanz.

Sources said TriNation was in advanced talks for the sale of the building, with Generali being the most likely buyer. Immofinanz and Ballymore representatives were unavailable for comment, but sources close to the two companies confirmed they had withdrawn from the race for the business centre. TriNation representatives were also unavailable.

However, an official from the Italian insurer confirmed that Generali was interested in acquiring real estate properties in Romania.

“I know that the officials from Vienna (headquarters of Generali Holding, the majority shareholder in the Romanian branch of Generali) are considering 2 or 3 buildings, but don’t think they have acquired anything so far,” Dan Centea, head of the management department of Generali Asigurari SA, told BUSINESS Magazin.