Aussie Fund, Forest City JV on $2B Retail Package

CLEVELAND —Forest City Enterprises Inc. and QIC Global Real Estate have teamed up on a major US retail portfolio valued at over $2.05 billion. The real estate arm of government-owned Queensland Investment Corp. will acquire a 49% equity interest in the eight-asset portfolio for $435.6 million in cash.

The purchase, the first US direct investment for the Australian institutional investment manager, is part of the firm’s long-term investment strategy. “Expansion into the US retail sector is a natural progression and comes after extensive investigation of the real estate market,” says Steven Leigh, managing director of Brisbane-based QIC GRE. The investment, he adds, provides the firm with scarce, premium-quality offshore properties that met the global real estate needs of institutional clients.