May 31, 2011
Toronto, ON (May 31, 2011) – The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) announced today that it has acquired a 50% joint venture interest in Northland Shopping Centre (Northland) for a total equity commitment of A$455 million. Northland is a 92,380-square-metre (994,370-square-foot) super-regional shopping centre located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The 50% interest in Northland is being acquired from the Gandel Group. Colonial First State Retail Property Trust (CFX), the largest Real Estate Investment Trust of fund manager of Colonial First State Global Asset Management (CFSGAM), holds the other 50% interest in Northland. CFSGAM will continue to manage the property. Graeme Eadie, CPPIB’s Senior Vice-President, Real Estate Investments, said, “This is a rare opportunity to invest in a high quality retail asset in a key Australian city where CPPIB does not currently have a presence. Northland has recently undergone a major redevelopment and repositioning and is the major full scale shopping centre in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.” Mr. Eadie added, “This investment further diversifies our exposure to the Australian retail market, one that has proven to be resilient during the global financial crisis, and allows us to work with a strong manager in CFSGAM, with whom CPPIB already has an existing relationship.” Northland Shopping Centre Northland is located in Preston, a suburb situated approximately 11 km north of the Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest shopping centre in Melbourne’s growing, northern suburbs and offers the only full-line department store for residents in the area. It also offers two discount department stores, two supermarkets, ten mini-major stores, 300 specialty shops and kiosks and a diverse entertainment offering that is anchored by a 14-screen cinema complex. Originally opened in 1966, Northland completed a major redevelopment in November 2009, which increased the centre to its current size and resulted in an additional 565 parking spaces.
About Canada Pension Plan Investment Board The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is a professional investment management organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits on behalf of 17 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, the CPPIB invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, inflation-linked bonds, infrastructure and fixed income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in London and Hong Kong, the CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At March 31, 2011, the CPP Fund totaled C$148.2 billion. For more information about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.ca.
For further information contact:
Linda Sims
Director, Media Relations
(416) 868-8695