Ivanhoé Cambridge has bought US light industrial real estate specialist Evergreen Industrial Properties from TPG Real Estate in its first strategic investment in the industrial sector.
Ivanhoé Cambridge, the CAD56bn (€38.4bn) real estate arm of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, said Evergreen owned and operated a portfolio of more than 150 properties, encompassing 16m sqft across 18 major markets.
Arthur Lloyd, president for the North American office market at Ivanhoé Cambridge, said: “We started looking at companies in the industrial real estate sector over two years ago with the intention of making a strategic investment in this asset class.”
Industrial real estate offers an attractive current return and diversification for Ivanhoé Cambridge’s portfolio, he said.
“We believe we have found the right fit with Evergreen,” he said, adding that the institution would continue looking for opportunities as it planned to grow its industrial business in the future.
Ivanhoé Cambridge’s current holdings are mainly in the residential, office, retail and logistics real estate sectors.
The Canadian institution said Evergreen had buildings in high-growth markets such as Seattle, Denver, and Charlotte, as well as Atlanta, Chicago, and Dallas.
They offer strategic infill locations for distribution, e-commerce and light manufacturing customers, with a focus on “last mile” distribution, it said.
Private equity company TPG this week announced it had launched a UK logistics platform in joint venture with Stoford Developments.
