Quebec-based Private Investor Group Acquires the Prestigious OGILVY Department Store
Devimco Inc. co-owner Mr. Jean-François Breton, Champlain Financial Corporation, the Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ and the BB Real Estate Investment Trust, the Beaudoin family's real estate investment vehicle, acquired the prestigious OGILVY department store located in downtown Montreal. Also part of the acquiring group is a number of private investors, including Mr. Andrew Lutfy, Chief Executive Office of Dynamite Group.
"Previously owned by a Toronto-based investment fund and by the CBC Employee Pension Fund, our acquisition repatriates this fashion and style icon back to Montreal. We will expend every effort to pursue the Company's development with a modern vision, while keeping the essence of the values OGILVY established for over 140 years," expressed Mr. Breton. "Our business project is ambitious and we are very enthusiastic about it because we intend on capitalising on the brand's notoriety in order to launch the model elsewhere in Quebec. To that effect, a second OGILVY store will open its doors in the spring of 2012 in the third phase of Quartier Dix/30 in Brossard. Devimco will lead the development project. We are proud to have attracted well-established investors and partners, in whom we have full confidence, to this project," concluded Mr. Breton.
The transaction was supported by an investment from the Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ, the acquiring group's main financial partner.
"It is, for us, a strategic investment in the city. This building constitutes an important architectural and historical asset. Our investment will enable, in part, the modernisation of the Ste-Catherine Street building, especially the 4th and 5th floors. It will also enable us to take part in the development of vacant land near the store. We intend to actively contribute to the development of the group's expansion projects, which will exploit the full growth potential of OGILVY," stated Normand Bélanger, president and CEO of the Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ.
OGILVY offers a unique shopping experience, which combines creativity and ready-to-wear by joining together high profile, world-renowned fashion labels, and the finest accessories. OGILVY's distinctive style and cachet, as well as the maintenance of high quality standards will preserve its reputation.
The Company's retail sales operations and real estate management will remain under Michel Théroux and Bernard Paré's responsibility, and their respective teams.