News

WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Alberta Investment Management Corporation have formed a joint venture to acquire industrial properties in the U.S. logistics markets. The joint venture is seeking to invest up to $1 billion in combined equity. CPPIB and AIMCo will each own a 45 percent stake in the joint venture while WPT Industrial REIT will own the remaining 10 percent stake.

PRESS RELEASE

Toronto, ON/New York, NY (July 31, 2018) – WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (the “REIT”) (TSX:WIR.U), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) announced today that they have formed a joint venture to aggregate a portfolio of industrial properties in strategic U.S. logistics markets through a value-add and development investment strategy.

The joint venture will target investing up to US$1 billion of combined equity. CPPIB and AIMCo will each own a 45% interest in the joint venture and the REIT will own the remaining 10% interest.

“We are thrilled to partner with two premier global real estate investors that share our long-term vision for the industrial sector,” said Scott Frederiksen, Chief Executive Officer of the REIT. “We appreciate the continued confidence and support of AIMCo and look forward to building our relationship with CPPIB through the growth and success of the joint venture.”

The joint venture will invest in a diversified mix of strategic U.S. logistics markets with favourable fundamentals primarily in national hubs such as Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas, as well as in global gateway markets such as New Jersey, Los Angeles and Seattle.

“The U.S. industrial sector provides an attractive investment opportunity, driven by trends such as growth in e-commerce, as well as the evolution and modernization of global supply-chains,” said Hilary Spann, Managing Director, Head of Americas, Real Estate Investments, CPPIB. “We are pleased to be partnering with WPT and AIMCo to expand our presence in this sector.”

The REIT will manage the properties acquired by the joint venture.

“The combination of AIMCo and CPPIB’s scale and sophistication creates a long-term opportunity that will meet the needs of our clients and stakeholders,” said Micheal Dal Bello, Senior Vice President, Real Estate, AIMCo. “AIMCo looks forward to this expanding relationship with WPT in this U.S. industrial venture with CPPIB.”

About WPT Industrial REIT
WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust established pursuant to a declaration of trust under the laws of the Province of Ontario. The REIT has been formed to own and operate an institutional-quality portfolio of primarily industrial properties located in the United States, with a particular focus on warehouse and distribution properties. As of March 31, 2018, WPT Industrial, LP (the REIT’s operating subsidiary) indirectly owns a portfolio of properties consisting of approximately 17.6 million square feet of gross leasable area, comprised of 52 industrial properties and one office property located in 15 states within the United States.

About CPPIB
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is a professional investment management organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to pay current benefits on behalf of 20 million contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, CPPIB invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income instruments.

Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, São Paulo and Sydney, CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At March 31, 2018, the CPP Fund totalled C$356.1 billion. For more information about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

About AIMCo
AIMCo is one of Canada’s largest and most diversified institutional investment managers with more than C$107.1 billion of assets under management, as at March 31, 2018. AIMCo was established on January 1, 2008 with a mandate to provide superior long-term investment results for its clients. AIMCo operates at arms-length from the Government of Alberta and invests globally on behalf of 32 pension, endowment and government funds in the Province of Alberta. For more information please visit www.aimco.alberta.ca.

AIMCo’s $13.9 billion real estate portfolio includes long term, direct investments in quality office, retail, industrial and multi-unit residential properties located in Canada’s major cities, and non-Canadian properties in markets with long term growth characteristics and supported by strong local management teams.