REAL ESTATE - A real estate subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Canada’s largest pension fund, has acquired an undisclosed stake in Brazilian retail management firm Ancar.
La Caisse’s Ivanhoe Cambridge, which specifically targets urban shopping centres, did not disclose figures for the deal, which will give it access to three shopping centres run by the Brazilian firm. The centres are Conjunto Nacional in Brasilia, Shopping Iguatemi in Porto Alegre, and Nova AmDerica in Nova América. Ancar will continue to manage all three properties on behalf of the partners.
Chief executive René Tremblay said the deal would further the firm’s strategy to expand both geographically and in terms of its network of strategic partners. Currently, around 30% of the firm’s assets are located outside its domestic market, including in China.
La Caisse is not the first Canadian pension fund to enter the Brazilian real estate market. The Ontario Teachers Fund – the country’s second largest – in June acquired a 46% shareholding in mall management firm Multiplan Imprendimentos Imobiliarios.
In a separate development, Cadim, another subsidiary of La Caisse, acquired one of five Canadian hotels sold by the Hilton Hotels Corporation. Hilton will continue to manage the hotel under a multi-year management agreement.
Cadim invests in high-quality assets in the main real estate sectors and opportunistic investments where it believes it can add value or exploit market inefficiencies.
