Mirvac to buy Harbourside in Darling Harbour for about $252m

MIRVAC has been on a $552m spending spree, snapping up a Darling Harbour mall and two Melbourne office complexes.

MIRVAC Group has agreed a deal to buy the Harbourside shopping centre in Sydney's Darling Harbour for $252 million

The deal, foreshadowed by The Australian in August, came after a protracted period of due diligence and will help transform the precinct.

The transaction involved the sale of the corporate entity controlled by developer John Beville that owned the under-performing shopping centre to a Mirvac unit.

Mr Beville's Suntrack Holdings bought the centre for $127 million in 2004 and invested further in the three-level, 20,500sq m property. The property tycoon's other flagship project, the Top Ryde shopping centre in Sydney, fell into the hands of receivers and was snapped up by private equity real estate giant Blackstone Group.

Mirvac, which picked up the centre despite rumoured interest from cashed-up offshore players at close to $300m, is now likely to undertake a full revamp of the centre. It could become a signature project for new chief executive Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz.

Mirvac also announced today the purchase of two office complexes in Melbourne's Collins Street, at a cost of $228m and $72m respectively.

In an announcement to the stock exchange, Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said: "These acquisitions are in line with our strategy to hold income producing, CBD office assets that provide us with repositioning and development opportunities in the future".

The acquisitions would produce returns in excess of Mirvac's targets, she said.

Rival Lend Lease, which is leading consortium that is overhauling the Sydney International Convention, Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct at Darling Harbour, also showed interest in the Harbourside shopping centre.

Stonebridge Property Group handled the sale of the centre, which it had pitched as the last key redevelopment opportunity in the precinct.

Mirvac shares were down 1 per cent at $1.73 each in early trade.