The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will spend $473-million for a 50-per-cent stake in an Australian shopping centre.
The Northland Shopping Centre, a 994,000-square-foot regional shopping mall is just outside of Melbourne, is co-owned by Colonial First State Retail Property Trust, a subsidiary of the country's largest money management company.
CPP senior president of real estate investments Graeme Eadie said the purchase gives the fund a presence in a city it isn't currently operating in, and gives the fund more exposure to the "resilient" Australian retail market.
The shopping centre is the largest in the Melbourne area, was built in 1966 and renovated in 1999. It has a department store, two discount department stores, two supermarkets, 10 major retail outlets, 300 specialty shops and kiosks and a 14-screen movie theatre.