Ivanhoé Cambridge makes first direct investment in Australia

Ivanhoé Cambridge announced today the acquisition of a 25% interest in Liberty Place, a core office property in Sydney, Australia. Blackstone Property Partners Asia partnered on the purchase from Lasalle Investmen Management, for a total investment of AU$240 M.

Completed in 2013, Liberty Place is a 42-storey office tower complex that is 97% leased. Located at 161 Castlereagh through 242 Pitt Street, in the heart of Sydney’s Midtown, the property features 647,729 ft² (60,176 m²) of office space and 47,630 ft² (4,425 m²) of retail area.

“We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to invest in Australian real estate”, explained Rita- Rose Gagné, Executive Vice President, Growth Markets, for Ivanhoé Cambridge. “Blackstone’s strong knowledge of the Australian market and its established presence in Australia have been key to the success of this transaction. Ivanhoé Cambridge continues to explore the possibilities of increasing our investments in Australia and in other parts of the Asia-Pacific region in 2015.”

Christopher Heady, Senior Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Asia at Blackstone said: “This is our first investment in Asia as part of Blackstone Property Partners’ Core+ strategy. Liberty Place fits the Core+ strategy extremely well as a high quality, well-leased asset in a global gateway city. We are pleased to have partnered with Ivanhoe Cambridge on this transaction.”

About Ivanhoé Cambridge

Ivanhoé Cambridge leverages its broad expertise, investing in, operating and developing real estate properties and companies to deliver optimal returns for its investors. Through multiple subsidiaries and partnerships, Ivanhoé Cambridge holds assets located mainly in Canada, the United States, Europe, Brazil, Mexico and Asia, which totalled more than Cdn$42 billion as at December 31, 2014. Ivanhoé Cambridge is a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (cdpq.com), one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers. For further information: ivanhoecambridge.com.