Montréal, May 24, 2011 – As part of a comprehensive agreement, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ (the “Fonds”) has completed an orderly disinvestment in Simard Beaudry Construction by obtaining prepayment of the entire $36 million balance of subordinated loans with varying maturities through 2018. Initiated in early 2007 at the request of the company’s owner, Mr. Accurso, the now completed disinvestment is part of a business transfer plan.
Under this comprehensive, final agreement between the parties, Les Galeries Laval and adjacent land will be sold to the Fonds. As a result of this acquisition, the Fonds is no longer a junior creditor but the sole owner of a solid mortgage-free property with excellent development potential and unencumbered by the $21.5 million in sureties granted by the Fonds.
Considering the low risk and the property’s potential, this is a good deal for the Fonds. External appraisals were obtained for Les Galeries Laval and the adjacent land, and the price paid for the property is in line with the appraised value.
According to the professional opinion of Éric Israel, a certified appraiser with Cushman & Wakefield, “The municipal value of a building only considers its construction cost whereas market value takes into account a number of factors, including location, tenant quality and neighbouring projects. When the transaction involves a shopping centre, you need to look at the market value of the property and its land. Les Galeries Laval is in a strategic location, bordered by the heavily trafficked quadrangle formed by Highway 15 and St-Martin, Le Corbusier and du Souvenir boulevards. Its proximity to the metro station and cégep Montmorency, as well as to the new Université de Montréal campus, slated to open this fall as part of Laval’s Cité du savoir, is also a definite advantage. Its tenants, which include Zellers, Linen Chest, Archambault and Réno Dépôt, are also an asset because of the customer traffic they generate. And last but not least, it is located in an area with the ability to attract residential, office and commercial projects.”
The $85 million deal includes the Les Galeries Laval shopping centre, the building housing Réno Dépôt, and various adjacent parcels of land. In the near term, development work is expected to continue to accommodate new big-box tenants. As well, in order to highlight the quadrangle surrounding Les Galeries Laval, the Fonds will also develop the adjacent land included in the comprehensive agreement.
About the Fonds de solidarité FTQ
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ helps drive our economy. With net assets of $7.7 billion as at November 30, 2010, the Fund is a development capital investment fund that channels the savings of Quebecers into investments in all sectors of the economy to help further Québec's economic growth. The Fund is a partner, either directly or through its network members, in 2,052 companies. With its 577,511 owner-shareholders, it has helped, on its own or with other financial partners, to create, maintain and protect 150,133 jobs. For more information, visit www.fondsftq.com.
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Note: The telephone number provided below is only for the press and other media representative.
Source: Josée Lagacé
Senior Advisor, Press Relations and Communications
Fonds de solidarité FTQ
Telephone: 514 850-4835
Cellular: 514 707-5180
Mail: jlagace@fondsftq.com