Brookfield Asset Management today (May 2) announced that it has reached an agreement with Gulf Islamic Investments (GII), a leading Shari’ah-compliant global alternative investment company, to acquire a controlling stake in its logistics real estate platform.

 

The transaction is being completed through one of Brookfield's private real estate funds, said the New York-based company in a statement.

 

The portfolio, comprising 1.5 million sq ft of warehouses in the UAE, marks Brookfield’s foray into the logistics sector in the region. The firm plans to invest and scale the platform overtime through the acquisition and development of high-quality logistics real estate assets, it stated.

 

Established in 2014 with over $4.5 billion of assets under its management, GII has been actively investing in logistics real estate assets since 2018. 

 

More recently, it has focused on acquiring, aggregating, repurposing, and developing facilities for leading transport and e-commerce companies in the GCC states.

 

Jad Ellawn, Managing Partner, Head of Middle East, Brookfield said: "Our on-the-ground approach to investment and our global relationships have helped us build a portfolio of marquee assets across real estate, infrastructure, and financial services in the region."

 

"Given the continued e-commerce and consumption-led growth in the region, we believe there will be exciting opportunities, to leverage our global expertise and provide solutions to our partners in the Middle East," he stated.

  

Mohammed Alhassan and Pankaj Gupta, GII’s co-founders and co-CEOs, said: "Our partnership with Brookfield enables us to expand our operations further through investments and acquisitions in the GCC."

 

"Due to increasing interconnectivity, the region is witnessing enhanced integration of the Gulf economies, leading to a surge in demand for logistics assets," they stated.

 

Brookfield, along with its partners, owns and operates 3 million sq ft of commercial real estate in the region, including ICD Brookfield Place, the region's premier lifestyle and business address. The US group’s logistics fully integrated portfolio spans over 80 million sq ft across five continents.-TradeArabia News Service