GLOBAL - Brazil's largest pension fund, PREVI, has acquired a majority stake in the Prologis CCP Cajamar Industrial Park after it announced it would allocate as much as 5% to the asset class this year.

The pension fund for the employees of the bank of Brazil, which has BRL152bn (€63.6bn) of assets under management, bought a 90% interest in the industrial park from US real estate company Prologis.

The Cajamar project is located in Sao Paulo and is currently being development by a joint venture between Prologis and Cyrela Commercial Properties (CCP).

The project is expected to comprise seven new class-A logistics facilities with a total leasable area of around 185,000 square metres.

Nick Kittredge, senior vice-president and general manager at Brazil Prologis, said: "This is the first portfolio sale of class-A distribution product to a major Brazilian pension fund and further solidifies industrial real estate as a major asset class with excellent investment potential.

"This transaction aligns well with our joint-venture strategy to develop modern, class-A logistics facilities and recycle capital for future developments."

In its 2010 annual report, PREVI announced it would allocate 2-5% to the real estate asset class this year, seeing a large pipeline of opportunities arising in Brazil.

In 2010, the Brazilian pension plan already increased its allocation to the sector, investing BRL4.8bn against BRL3.7bn in 2009.

Last year, PREVI acquired three commercial buildings in San Paolo - WTorre ações Unidas, Parque Cidade Torre C and Eco Berrini - as well as increased its interest in Shopping ABC.

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