Ivanhoé exits $1.53bn Canadian portfolio

The real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has sold a 5.66 million-square-foot portfolio of shopping centers and office buildings to Canadian REIT Cominar.

Ivanhoé Cambridge has made a massive exit, selling a portfolio totaling 5.66 million square feet to Cominar for $1.527 billion. In the transaction, the Canadian real estate investment trust (REIT) also acquired two ownership interests from Ivanhoé Cambridge’s partners, bringing the total value of the deal to $1.63 billion.

In the transaction, Cominar will issue $500 million in new units, $250 million of which will be purchased by Ivanhoé Cambridge, making it the REIT’s largest unitholder. Once the deal closes, Ivanhoé Cambridge will own approximately 8.5 percent of Cominar’s units and will be offered a position on the REIT’s board of trustees.

“This transaction allows us to reach a key milestone in the implementation of our business plan for the commercial sector, which calls for more strategic focus,” said Ivanhoé Cambridge’s chairman and chief executive Daniel Fournier in a statement. “As we have chosen to focus on our super-regional shopping centers, among others, Cominar possesses the right expertise to ensure the future success of the properties we are selling them.”

The portfolio includes 11 shopping centers totaling 4.95 million square feet, three office buildings totaling 660,000 square feet and one industrial property totaling 99,000 square feet. Thirteen of the properties are in Quebec, while the remaining two are located in Ontario.

“This acquisition represents an opportunity for Cominar to acquire a unique portfolio of landmark retail properties from Ivanhoé Cambridge, which is a natural and highly complementary fit with our own retail platform, and marks another important milestone in our development and further enhancing our growth strategy,” added Cominar president and chief executive Michel Dallaire in a statement.

Earlier this week, Ivanhoé Cambridge made headlines when PointPark Properties, the pan-European logistics platform it owns with TPG Capital, purchased a €523 million portfolio of prime logistics assets and developments in the Czech Republic.