PREI Enters JV With Kimco

Prudential Real Estate Investors, Parsippany, N.J., is getting in on Kimco Realty Corp.'s previously announced acquisition of Pan Pacific Retail Properties through a joint venture with Kimco.PREI is putting in a $1.1 billion equity investment on behalf of institutional investors to support the merger, according to the real estate investment management affiliate of Prudential Financial. Pan Pacific's portfolio includes 138 properties, which are primarily grocery-anchored shopping centers. All but two of the properties are located in the Western United States, with concentrations in California, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada. "This transaction gives our investors an opportunity to hold a stake in well-located shopping centers in the Western U.S.," said Steve Vittorio, principal in PREI's capital markets group. "The locations and tenants for these assets give them a solid inherent value that we hope to further enhance over time."