The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, April 17, edition that Choice Properties REIT and KingSett Capital, a private real estate firm, are joining up to buy First Capital REIT for $5.2-billion. The Globe's Tim Kiladze reports that First Capital, based in Toronto, has a real estate portfolio largely made up of open-air shopping centres in major cities, and the vast majority of them are anchored by a grocery store. Choice and KingSett are dividing this portfolio, with Choice acquiring $5-billion worth of properties and KingSett purchasing $4.4-billion worth. Choice will primarily take on First Capital's grocery-anchored real estate, while KingSett will acquire a mix of assets that includes some enclosed shopping malls, development sites and high street retail locations, such as First Capital's properties in Toronto's upscale Yorkville neighborhood. First Capital unitholders will receive $24.40 a unit, and the acquisition will largely be paid for with cash, amounting to 79 per cent of the purchase price. The remaining amount will be paid for in units of Choice Properties. The acquisition marks another loss of a large publicly traded REIT in Canada, though this deal is only a partial privatization.