* Unibail-Rodamco SE's proposed US$15.68 billion acquisition of its Australian peer Westfield Corp. cleared the final hurdle after receiving approval from the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The court orders are expected to be filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission May 30, following which the takeover will become effective.
* A joint venture between Hyundai Investments Co. Ltd. and an unnamed French asset manager paid €235 million for the acquisition of the seven-story, 32,600-square-meter Le Balthazar office building in Paris. Hyundai Investments plans to resell its equity interests in the property to South Korean insurance companies and other institutional investors.
UK and Ireland
* Annington bought two private rented sector portfolios comprising 177 properties in the U.K. for a sum of £47 million, Property Week reported. The deals involve the £23.8 million purchase of 104 rental homes from Mill Group and the £23.5 million acquisition of 73 homes from Taylor Wimpey PLC.
* Dublin City Council rejected October Management Ltd.'s plans for the construction of an eight-story office building in Dublin's Ballsbridge area, the Irish Independent reported. At 105 feet, the building's plans violate the maximum 79-foot height policy put in place by the Dublin City Development Plan for the area.
* According to Savills Ireland, out of the 202 office buildings due for completion in Dublin by 2021-end, only half are expected to be delivered to the market on the back of a "stark rate of slippage" in the office space pipeline. Developers are looking to add approximately 12 million square feet of office space in the capital by the end of the 2021, The Irish Times reported.
Portugal
* Meliá Hotels International SA opened the 112-room Meliá Setúbal Hotel in Setúbal, marking its first hotel in the city and its 14th in Portugal. The hotel was opened in a partnership with local group Hoti Hotéis.
Middle East
* InterContinental Hotels Group PLC expanded its presence in Saudi Arabia with the opening of the 304-room Crowne Plaza Riyadh Palace hotel in a joint venture with DUR Hospitality. The hotels also includes 1,400 square meters of meeting space across five rooms, according to a release.
* Dubai Land Department plans to launch a real estate platform that will allow landlords to trade and sell their properties online, Arabian Business reported. The Real Estate Self Transaction platform is expected to eliminate paper documents and cut out brokerage procedures by digitizing processes, the report added.
Other real estate news
* Israel-based Gazit-Globe Ltd. estimates its economic funds from operations per share to be in the range of 3.64 shekels to 3.72 shekels for the full year 2018. The company also noted that it wrapped up the purchase of a 70% stake in the Internacional Shopping Center in Sao Paulo for 937 million reais.
* South African real estate operating and management company Visual International Holdings Ltd.'s director Leon Rauch is resigning, effective May 31.
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Anusha Iyer contribute to this report
As of May 28, US$1 was equivalent to 3.57 shekels and 3.71 reais.
