Chinese real estate giant Dalian Wanda's hotel unit has confirmed that it's sold the iconic Edificio Espana building in Madrid to Spanish property developer Baraka Global Invest.

 

中国房地产巨头大连万达集团已证实，已将西班牙马德里标志性建筑西班牙大厦卖给西班牙房地产开发商Baraka Global Invest。
 

 

The sale brings to an end the group's three-year-long battle with local authorities.

 

The 25-storey Edificio Espana building, with a floor space of 4,655 square meters, was acquired by Wanda in February, 2014. 

 

The takeover marked the Chinese developer's first entry into the Spanish real estate market.

 

At the time, the group proposed tearing down the structure for safety reasons, and turning the historic building into a luxury hotel & shopping complex, but the plan was met with opposition¹ from the city's mayor. 

 

After feuding² with city authorities for two years, Wanda Hotel Development published a statement on July 22, 2016, saying it had signed a preliminary agreement to sell the landmark³ building to Spanish investment group Baraka.

 

In a previous statement, Wanda Hotel Development announced that the deal was valued at €272 million, slightly higher than the price the conglomerate⁴ paid in 2014.

 

It's reported that due to fluctuations⁵ in the exchange rate, Wanda has suffered a loss of about 200 million yuan (about $29.4 million).

 

The sale was officially confirmed on June 2, 2017.

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