ING to Sell Stake in Landmark Polish Mall

Dutch financial giant ING Groep N.V. (NYSE:ING) is selling its stake in a landmark Polish shopping mall for $630 million, the company announced Wednesday, to further minimize its exposure to the European real estate market.

"This is the final step in a project which we have been involved in for the past 14 years. The sale marks an important milestone in ING's strategy to reduce its exposure to real estate," Hein Brand, CEO at ING Real Estate Development, said in a statement.

ING is selling its 77 percent stake of the Zlote Tarasy mall to a partnership formed between French financial firm AXA, U.S. real estate concern CBRE and Dutch commercial property investor Unibail-Rodamco. Both CBRE and Unibail-Rodamco had previously held ownership stakes.

The Zlote Tarasy -- Polish for Golden Terraces -- shopping complex, opened in February 2007 and has a total area of 225,000 square meters. It is considered a landmark of central Warsaw, distinctive for the undulating glass-and-steel roof design of its central atrium, and receives 20 million visitors per year.