Ivanhoé Cambridge, Oxford Properties Invest in IDI Logistics
The two Canadian pension funds formed a joint venture to share ownership of the Atlanta-based firm, a leading developer and manager of logistics real estate in the U.S.
Two months after acquiring Atlanta-based IDI Logistics and all its assets from a Brookfield-sponsored real estate fund for a reported $3.5 billion, Ivanhoé Cambridge has formed a joint venture with Oxford Properties to share ownership of the developer and manager of logistics real estate in the U.S.
Ivanhoé Cambridge, a real estate subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, completed the initial acquisition of IDI Logistics on Nov. 30. According to Bloomberg, Ivanhoé sold 50 percent of the firm to Oxford, the real estate arm of OMERS, for approximately $1.7 billion.
The partnership will own the operating and development company, which has a portfolio of 111 assets covering 31 million square feet. IDI Logistics also has 35 development parcels totaling about 16 million square feet and a land bank of 33 parcels that would allow for an additional build-out potential of 17 million square feet. The 30-year-old firm has a long track record of sourcing acquisitions, dispositions and development opportunities and has developed more than 100 business parks and 750 warehouses totaling roughly 200 million square feet throughout North America.
“This transaction perfectly illustrates our plan to capture the growth in demand for logistics globally, which includes a meaningful increase of our investments in that sector across four continents. In just over two years, we have grown our overall committed investments in the industrial and logistics sector from more than C$2 billion ($1.5 billion) to more than C$9 billion ($6.9 billion),” said Mario Morroni, executive vice president of industrial in North America at Ivanhoé Cambridge, in a prepared statement.
Goldman Sachs & Co. was the financial advisor of Ivanhoé Cambridge, while Cushman & Wakefield was the company’s real estate advisor. Oxford chose Morgan Stanley as financial advisor, with real estate advisory services provided by CBRE National Partners.
Oxford’s first U.S. industrial buy
Kevin Egan, head of New York and U.S. investments at Oxford Properties, noted the IDI Logistics joint venture was its first logistics acquisition in the U.S. He stated it was complementary to its Canadian industrial portfolio and consistent with its investment strategy to grow a best-in-class global logistics platform.
“Furthermore, it highlights the evolution and growth of our U.S. business which now actively invests and manages across the office, retail, multifamily, logistics and credit sectors with approximately $15.1 billion of assets under management,” Egan said.
IDI Logistics has more than 70 employees in six regional offices in the U.S. and expects the experience and resources of the two Canada-based companies will further its strategic positioning and growth, according to Mark Saturno, IDI Logistics CEO.
The news of the ownership change for IDI Logistics comes as the firm begins construction on a 350,000-square-foot building at Stateline Business Park, a 4 million-square-foot industrial park it has been developing since 2015. The Southhaven, Miss., business park is two miles of Interstate 55 and the FedEx Air Cargo Superhub. When completed in June, Building G will be the 10th and final facility at the site.
In October, Ivanhoé formed a joint venture with CapRock Partners to start construction on the first phase of Colony Commerce Center, a $450 million, Class A logistics complex in Ontario, Calif., set to encompass 3 million square feet. That deal followed Ivanhoé’s announcement in August that it had purchased two large parcels totaling 150 acres at the Inland Empire site to develop Colony Commerce Center.
Images courtesy of Ivanhoé Cambridge and Oxford Properties
