The Goodman Group is negotiating with global investors to launch a logistics platform in Brazil to raise up to $1bn (€902m).
At the company’s quarterly market update for the period ending September 30 in Sydney, Greg Goodman, group chief executive at Goodman, said: “I will be in Brazil this week to meet a potential partner.”
Goodman told analysts and investors there were four potential partners interested in the Brazilian platform.
He later told IPE Real Estate it had not yet been decided whether the venture would be a partnership or a club arrangement.
“There is probably going to be more than one partner, but no more than four,” he said. “We expect to raise between $750m and $1bn in equity commitments [from these investors].”
He said he was hopeful the negotiations would be finalised over the next few months.
Goodman said he could not reveal the identity of the interested parties except to say that they were global investors whose names would be familiar to the international investment community.
Earlier, he told the briefing: “They are well credentialed, and they understand Brazil. We have done business before.
“We are looking to have 20-30% of the partnership, and we don’t envisage any further capital contribution at this time.”
Goodman told IPE Real Estate that, depending on the exchange rate, his company had an equity commitment of between AUD100m (€68.8m) and AUD130m to Brazil.
“We have already spent some money there buying land and assets,” he said.
Goodman bought out its original Brazilian partner, WT Torre, in March this year.
It now owns 100% of its operating platform in Brazil and has stabilised assets in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Aside from the Brazilian platform, Goodman Group has raised $200m in fresh equity for its Goodman Japan Core Partnership to fund the acquisition of Stage 1 of Goodman Business Park, Tokyo, from Goodman Japan Development Partnership.
Respecting Europe, where Goodman has started a record level of development projects valued at around AUD1bn, Goodman said: “Europe surprises us year after year.”
One of its latest projects in Europe is to build two warehouses, valued at AUD250m, for the German retailer Metro, which is aiming to consolidate seven or eight warehouses as it reorganises its operation.
Goodman said European customers were moving as quickly as they could to become more efficient in the age of e-commerce.
“We are looking at robust growth from Europe over the next five years,” he told IPE Real Estate.
The group has some €3bn worth of assets in Europe, mostly in Germany, France and the Benelux countries.
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