Exclusive: Hudson's Bay, RioCan agree to sell Vancouver store for about C$675 million - source

By Nichola Saminather

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian department store owner Hudson's Bay Co and joint venture partner RioCan REIT have signed a conditional agreement to sell HBC's flagship store in downtown Vancouver for about C$675 million ($524.4 million) to an Asian buyer, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The buyer, who owns a closely held real estate company, is seeking to arrange interim financing from at least one Canadian lender, according to the source who declined to be identified as the deal hasn't been made public yet. The source declined to identify or give the nationality of the buyer, but said the deal is expected to be finalised by mid-June.

HBC said in October it was exploring the sale of the Vancouver property.

A HBC spokeswoman declined to comment. RioCan didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

($1 = 1.2872 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting By Nichola Saminather; Editing by Denny Thomas and Jeffrey Benkoe)