SINGAPORE: Singapore’s GIC Pte is in talks to sell its stake in US landlord Yes! Communities Inc to Brookfield Asset Management in what could be one of the biggest exits for the sovereign wealth fund in years, according to a source.
The entire portfolio could be valued at more than US$10bil, according to the source.
Talks are ongoing, and there is no guarantee of a deal.
GIC invested in Yes! Communities in August 2016 when it acquired a 71% equity interest with another unidentified global investor.
This transaction valued Yes! at over US$2bil, sources said at the time.
“If materialised at the mentioned price, this would be the largest ever commercial exit of an SWF,” said Diego Lopez, Global SWF managing director.
“For GIC, it would provide significant liquidity and an opportunity to reduce dependency on the US real estate market.”
Brookfield and GIC declined to comment.
Furthermore, The Financial Times earlier reported the talks between the companies.
The sale comes as GIC expects a slowdown in the second half of the year alongside rising inflation and uncertainty driven by Singapore’s domestic and geopolitical pressures.
The fund’s annualised five-year return rose to 6.1% in nominal US dollar terms, up from 4.4% a year earlier.
GIC doesn’t publish yearly performance figures.
The purchase of Yes! would also count among the largest acquisitions for Brookfield, which oversees more than US$1 trillion. Denver-based Yes! operates almost 300 sites in the United States, mostly in the Southwest, Midwest and Southeast.
The firm was exploring an initial public offering sometime in 2025, Bloomberg News reported in December.
Brookfield’s global real estate portfolio includes apartments, warehouses, offices and other property types.
In 2020, the alternative asset manager acquired a controlling stake in single-family landlord Conrex and raised US$300mil for a vehicle to acquire houses, Bloomberg News reported at the time. — Bloomberg
