A deal is in the works that could become one of the largest office transactions of the year in Moscow City. Parus Asset Management is in talks to purchase a portion of the “City-4” mixed-use complex, which Sezar Group is building on the fourth plot of the business center. Vedomosti was the first to report on the negotiations, citing consultants familiar with their progress.
The company has already laid the groundwork for the future purchase: in May, it registered the “Parus City” closed-end real estate investment fund. The name speaks for itself—"Parus" operates on the principle of "one fund, one property," so the new closed-end real estate investment fund was clearly not created just in case.
The property in question is the smaller of the complex’s two buildings—Building B, which faces the “Imperia” tower. Its total area is approximately 24,400 square meters, of which 21,200 square meters are available for lease. It is precisely this leasable space that will be the subject of the transaction, if it goes through. Consultants value the asset at 11.6–14.8 billion rubles.
There is, however, a complication that is complicating the negotiations: the building does not yet have a tenant. For the management company, which is selling shares to qualified investors, this is a sensitive issue—Parus’s entire business model is built on a stable rental income stream, and it is simply inconvenient for the fund to purchase an empty building without signed leases. So, it appears that the negotiations are, in part, centered around this issue.
Don’t expect any official confirmation: Parus Asset Management does not comment on deals until they are closed, and Sezar Group has taken the same stance. The only thing a representative of the developer confirmed is that they are indeed looking for a buyer for the asset.
As a reminder, “City-4” is the former “Empire II,” a long-stalled construction project with a history spanning nearly a decade. The initial concept for the site on Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment was approved back in 2016, when the plot was owned by entities affiliated with Alisher Usmanov’s USM. Sezar Group acquired the project in 2024, redesigned it, and began construction in February 2025. Instead of the hotel and apartments featured in earlier versions of the project, the site will now feature two 18-story buildings with prime-class offices and retail space on the ground floors, connected by a three-level underground parking garage. The total area is 85,000 square meters, with completion scheduled for the second quarter of 2027. VTB provided project financing of 20 billion rubles.
For “Parus,” this would be its first property located directly in “Moscow City”—and a significant addition to its portfolio, which currently comprises 2.1 million square meters of real estate with a total value of approximately 180 billion rubles. The company has clearly been picking up the pace in recent months: this spring, it reached an agreement with ADG Group on a fund for 26 “Meeting Place” regional shopping centers, and is now setting its sights on the business district. If the “City-4” deal closes, private investors will, for the first time, be able to become co-owners of offices in the country’s main skyscraper cluster through exchange-traded shares.
Related materials:
The “CITY-4” office complex in Moscow City and its rendering
Sezar Group Acquires the “Empire II” Skyscraper Project in Moscow City
