The Shops at Crystals, Las Vegas

CityCenter Holdings, Invesco, Simon Property Group Agree to Buy The Shops at Crystals in Las Vegas for $1.1B

by Jeff Shaw

LAS VEGAS — A joint venture between CityCenter Holdings LLC, Invesco Real Estate (NYSE: IVZ) and Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) has agreed to acquire The Shops at Crystals in Las Vegas from an undisclosed seller for approximately $1.1 billion.

CityCenter Holdings LLC is itself a joint venture between MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) and Infinity World Development Corp.

The Shop at Crystals is located at the entryway of City Center in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. City Center is a mixed-use development that includes ARIA Resort & Casino, a 4,004-room casino resort; Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, a 392-room boutique hotel with 225 luxury condominium residences; Crystals, a retail and entertainment district consisting of approximately 355,000 square feet of leasable retail space; Vdara Hotel and Spa, a 1,495-room luxury hotel-condominium; and the Veer Towers, which contain 669 luxury condominium residences.

The transaction to acquire the 324,000-square-foot shopping center is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.

“This transaction demonstrates the strength in Las Vegas as a premier destination for visitors around the world,” says Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International. “We believe that Invesco Real Estate and Simon Property Group are the ideal stewards to maintain the high quality of the asset and usher in a new era of success.”

Ten luxury flagship stores anchor the center, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Tom Ford, Prada, Fendi and Tiffany & Co. The center also features 30 unique-to-market luxury retailers such as Celine, Saint Laurent and Richard Mille, plus a dedicated tram station that connects to the Bellagio Resort & Casino and the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino.

“The acquisition of The Shops at Crystals provides us with an extraordinary opportunity to obtain a high-quality asset in a growing marketplace,” says David Simon, chairman and CEO of Simon Property Group.

The shopping center opened in 2009 and is recognized for its architecture. Daniel Libeskind designed the building’s exterior, and David Rockwell designed the interior.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) represented CityCenter in the transaction.

“Las Vegas has experienced significant economic growth over the past few years, with a record number of visitors in 2015 and an increasing international clientele,” says Michael Zietsman, director at JLL. “Visitors now spend more than half their travel budget on non-gaming expenditures. A sale like this has never made more sense.”

MGM Resorts International’s stock price closed on March 17 at $20.95 per share, down from $21.74 per share a year ago. Simon Property Group’s stock price closed on March 17 at $205.13 per share, up from $186.13 per share a year ago. Invesco Real Estate’s stock price closed on March 17 at $30.92 per share, down from $41.03 per share a year ago.

Invesco Real Estate is an investment center of Invesco Advisers, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., and invests in core, value-add and opportunistic assets.

— Christina Cannon

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