SAO PAULO—TIAA-CREF, a U.S. financial services organization, says that the TIAA General Account completed the purchase of a 36% stake in JK Iguatemi Mall, Sao Paulo. The investment extends TIAA-CREF's global real estate strategy to one of South America's most vibrant economies.
“An expanding middle class and rising affluence in Brazil make owning dominant shopping centers such as JK Iguatemi Mall a very attractive investment,” said Phil McAndrews, managing director, head of Americas for TIAA-CREF's real estate business. “This stake builds on TIAA-CREF's global strategy of owning commercial real estate in the world's most attractive markets and aligning with local operators to expand our access to new investment opportunities.”
The JK Iguatemi Mall investment follows the successful launch earlier this month of TIAA Henderson Real Estate, TIAA-CREF's joint venture with Henderson Global Investors that pursues core and value-add real estate investment opportunities in Europe and Asia. The joint venture, an extension of TIAA-CREF's $48.2 billion global real estate platform, manages $22.6 billion of assets across 50 funds and mandates, overseen by a network of offices in Asia, Europe and North America. TIAA-CREF's ownership in JK Iguatemi Mall will be made through the TIAA General Account, a significant client of TH Real Estate, which will eventually manage the investment on behalf of the Account.
Today's closing finalizes an agreement between the TIAA General Account and Iguatemi Empresa de Shopping Centers SA for the acquisition of 50% interest in the mall. As part of this agreement, Iguatemi acquired 14% of JK Iguatemi and TIAA General Account agreed to acquire the remaining 36% stake. TIAA-CREF and Iguatemi have received full regulatory approval to close the transaction.
“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,” added Adriana De Alcantara, senior director for TIAA-CREF's global real estate group in Brazil.
“We at Iguatemi are very pleased to co-invest with TIAA-CREF in Brazil. We hope this will be the first step of a longstanding relationship and that the JK Iguatemi Mall, already one of the top five assets in Brazil, will benefit from TIAA-CREF's expertise in retail properties,” added Carlos Jereissati, CEO of Iguatemi Empresa de Shopping Centers S.A.
Located in Sao Paulo's Vila Olimpia neighborhood, the JK Iguatemi Mall was inaugurated in June, 2012 and is in the early stages of its growth cycle, typically comprised of five years. Iguatemi's tenants include Topshop, Prada, and Burberry. Iguatemi will continue to manage the property.
TIAA-CREF has been investing in Brazil since 2008 through Radar, a joint venture it formed with Cosan, the world's largest grower and processor of sugarcane and ethanol, to identify, acquire and manage agricultural properties Brazil.
Iguatemi Empresa de Shopping Centers S.A. (Iguatemi) is one of the largest full-service companies in the Brazilian shopping malls sector. TIAA-CREF is a New York-based national financial services organization with $569 billion in assets under management as of March 31.
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