TIAA Henderson Real Estate has expanded its global portfolio into Latin America. The London-based real estate venture now has added a stake in a Brazilian shopping mall to its holdings. Terms of the transaction were undisclosed.
TIAA-CREF, the New York-based financial services organization that is one of the co-owners in TH Real Estate, struck its first deal in the region. Together with Iguatemi Empresa de Shopping Centers, one of the largest mall companies in Brazil, TIAA-CREF acquired a 50 percent interest in JK Iguatemi Mall, a luxury shopping center in São Paulo, from Brazilian real estate conglomerate WTorre. TIAA-CREF now holds a 36 percent interest in the property, while Iguatemi, which already owned a 50 percent interest in the mall, claimed the remaining 14 percent stake.
The investment in JK Iguatemi represents the first investment in the Americas for TH Real Estate since officially launching last month. Located in São Paulo’s Vila Olimpia neighborhood, JK Iguatemi opened in June 2012 and is considered one of the top five retail assets in the country. Iguatemi will continue to manage the property.
While TH Real Estate declined to provide details on its future pipeline in Latin America, Phil McAndrews, head of the Americas at TIAA-CREF and a member of TH Real Estate’s leadership team, noted that the venture looks forward to expanding its investment reach across the wider region. “An expanding middle class and rising affluence in Brazil make owning dominant shopping centers such as JK Iguatemi Mall a very attractive investment,” he said in a statement. “We are excited to co-invest with a savvy local mall operator such as Iguatemi and look forward to jointly identifying new investment opportunities with their team.”
TH Real Estate oversees investments made by TIAA-CREF’s general account outside of the US. The venture, which is 60 percent owned by TIAA-CREF and 40 percent owned by Henderson Global Investors, currently manages $23 billion in assets across approximately 50 funds and mandates.
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