MOSCOW (Reuters) - Austria's Immofinanz (>> IMMOFINANZ AG) will invest an estimated 80 million euros (70.47 million pounds) in its five Moscow shopping malls and the cost will be split with the future buyer of the assets, senior executives said on Wednesday.

Immofinanz said earlier it plans to close the delayed sale or spin-off of its Russia portfolio by year-end. The move is a precondition of its planned merger with rival CA Immo (>> CA Immobilien Anlagen AG).

Chief Operating Officer Dietmar Reindl said Immofinanz planned to change the name of all five shopping centres to Novamall and will install additional facilities such as staircases or food courts over two years. "The aim is to become Moscow's top shopping centres... Of course the work we are conducting will increase the value of the assets," he told a news conference.

Part of the investment cost will be shouldered by the buyer of the assets, said the company's Russia head, Maxim Bubon, without giving more details.

Immofinanz said earlier this year it would invite bids from around 25 "pre-qualified" parties which have expressed an interest in the five Moscow shopping centres.

The portfolio had a book value of more than 997 million euros at end-March, including 698 million euros in debt.

(Reporting by Olga Sichkar; writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Duncan Miriri)

Stocks treated in this article : CA Immobilien Anlagen AG, IMMOFINANZ AG