Sale of The Square held up after objection from one of equity lenders

THE sale by Oaktree of The Square is understood to have been held up following an objection from one of the US private equity giant’s lenders.

Oaktree paid €250m to acquire the Tallaght shopping centre from Nama in 2019, and put it on the market last June for €170m.

The Irish Times reports that bids for the scheme have come in between

€120m and €125m, or just half of the US investor’s original outlay.

The pan-European property investor Eagle Street Partners is understood to be vying with US real estate group Hines to secure ownership of The Square, with Ardstone Capital also still in the running out of the five parties who tabled bids originally.

While Oaktree and the main lender on the scheme, AIB, are said by sources to be prepared to dispose of The Square at around the levels being proposed by the three remaining bidders, London-headquartered M&G Investments is understood to have voiced its objections as a sale of the centre at such a heavy discount would see the mezzanine or junior debt it provided for The Square’s purchase being wiped out.