Having entered Poland in 1996 in opening a Warsaw store, CasinoGP last year harvested a portfolio of 19 supermarkets in thecountry under the "Geant" brand to Metro AG, and another package of200 convenience stores to Tesco PLC, reaping a total of $1.1billion. Upon those sales, part of a strategy to divest non-coreassets, Casino GP subsequently secured several additional parcelsto restock its presence in Poland.

From those, three retail properties are already underconstruction that will yield 1.36 million sf. Whitehall says it isinvesting a minimum of $680 million in those assets and others tobe developed during the next five years. One of Goldman's primaryfunds, Whitehall Street touts itself as the leading real estateinvestment vehicle globally after buying $92 billion of productoverseas since 1991.

The contribution of Casino GP will be facilitated from thetransfer of outstanding projects to the partnership, as furtherinvestments are expected to be financed using proceeds generatedfrom construction. Casino GP will hold the majority of the votingrights and receive up to 70% of the development margin. The EasternEuropean real estate arm of Casino GP, known as Mayfield, hopes toramp up retail construction throughout Poland, and utilizingpartners such as Whitehall can accommodate expansion while limitinginvestment risk, company officials say in the release.