Sydney-listed Goodman Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have created a logistics and industrial partnership called the Goodman North America Partnership. Goodman and CPPIB have targeted an equity amount of US$890 mln (EUR 1.1 bn) on a 55/45 basis, representing US$490 mln and US$400 mln respectively.

Sydney-listed Goodman Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have created a logistics and industrial partnership called the Goodman North America Partnership. Goodman and CPPIB have targeted an equity amount of US$890 mln (EUR 1.1 bn) on a 55/45 basis, representing US$490 mln and US$400 mln respectively.

GNAP's investment strategy is to target investment in logistics and industrial property in key North American markets. The focus will initially be on development-led opportunities, with value-add and stabilised asset acquisitions to be considered over time in line with market conditions.

Goodman CEO Greg Goodman said, 'GNAP further builds on our relationship with CPPIB and reinforces our strategy of matching third party capital with our development pipeline, enabling us to enter North America in a measured way. We will continue to work closely with our global customers to deliver high quality logistics and industrial space, consistent with our prudent development approach.'

This transaction is CPPIB's first direct investment in US industrial real estate, a sector which is expected to benefit from a lack of new supply in recent years and continued growth in global trade.

Goodman Group also reported an operating profit of A$463 mln (EUR 394 mln) for its book year to end-June 2012. This represents a 21% increase on 2011.The diluted operating earnings per security (EPS) came to 30.5 cents, up 8% on FY2011.

The group has liquidity of AU$1.3 bn, and a balance sheet gearing ratio of 23.9%.

The company has A$ 1.8 bn of development commitments across 77 projects, with 74% pre-committed and 87% matched to third-party capital.