The property already acquired in Trnava is a 107,639-sf grocery anchored shopping center called the "Max" that was completed in late 2004. It is anchored by Billa, the leading food retailer in Austria. Other tenants include Kenvelo, EXISport, Mountfield and a movie theater. The sale price was $16.89 million.

The other two properties, Max centers in Poprad and Trencin, opened in December and are anchored by Hypernova supermarkets operated by Ahold. GE Real Estate has not released the purchase price or closing date for the transactions. In all three cases, the sellers were development companies called EuroMax a.s. and SlovakiaMax a.s.

GE Real Estate currently has approximately €1 billion of investments in the region, with assets in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. Karim Habra, GE Real Estate's managing director for Central Europe, says the transactions are representative of the company's appetite for growth in the region.

"One of our key strategies for growth has been to invest in the strengthening retail markets across Central and Eastern Europe," he says. "We believe strongly that Slovakia will continue to benefit from this trend… ."