BCI investing in Indian telecommunications, CPPIB in Brazilian real estate
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is investing in an Indian telecommunications tower company alongside Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and its institutional partners.
The transaction totals an equity commitment of about US$3.4 billion, with the investors buying a 100 per cent stake in the company from Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd.
“For BCI and our clients, this investment is well-aligned with our long-term strategy of investing in high quality companies and assets that fulfill essential needs of the communities in which they operate,” said Lincoln Webb, executive vice-president and global head of the BCI’s infrastructure and renewable resources program, in a press release.
Read: Caisse investing in data centre operator, telecom infrastructure
“Data services are increasingly critical to societies and economies in today’s world, promoting both opportunity for individuals and potential innovation for local communities. BCI is excited by the opportunity to invest in infrastructure that will play a vital role in enabling India’s continued economic growth.”
The investment includes a portfolio of about 135,000 recently constructed communication towers throughout India, with about 40,000 more in the works.
In other investment news, Greystar Real Estate Partners is joining the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Cyrela Brazil Realty in a joint venture that will develop, own and operate purpose-built multifamily rental housing in São Paulo, Brazil.
The platform and partnership, first created by the CPPIB and Cyrela, continues to target an investment of up to R$1 billion in combined equity. The CPPIB will maintain a majority interest in the joint venture, while Cyrela will own a significant interest and Greystar will acquire an ownership interest through the expansion of the partnership.
Read: CPPIB boosts Brazilian real estate presence through portfolio exchange, new joint venture
The joint venture has identified four development projects located on premium sites in São Paulo as assets to seed, with three already secured. This provides the partnership with immediate scale in the market and accounts for about 40 per cent of the joint venture’s target equity allocation, according to a release.
“CPP Investments sees increasing demand in the rental multifamily sector in Brazil, which will particularly benefit developers of modern, high-quality residential space,” said Hilary Spann, the CPPIB’s managing director and head of real estate for the Americas, in the release. “We are pleased to join our partners Cyrela and Greystar in building a best-in-class portfolio in Brazil.”
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System’s venture capital arm is leading a $9 million series A funding round for automative intelligence firm Acerta Analytics Solutions Inc.
OMERS Ventures was joined by M12, Microsoft Corp.’s venture fund, StandUp Ventures, Radical Ventures Investments Inc., Export Development Canada and Techstars. The company aims to use the capital to expand its team, launch into new markets and broaden its capabilities in generating insights on automotive production and vehicle data.
Read: OMERS Ventures establishes tech fund, BCI closes stake in water company
“Artificial intelligence has already played a huge role in stimulating innovation in the automotive industry and it will continue to do so for many years to come,” said Brian Kobus, partner at OMERS Ventures, in a press release. “We’ve entered a new phase in the world of transportation and Acerta is in a unique position to empower automakers around the world by enabling them to harness the power of their data to deliver valuable insights, drive [return on investment] and ultimately make better decisions for their business and customers.”