Brookfield Picks Business Parks, Industrial Complex for $413M as First Singapore Buy

Brookfield Asset Management has revealed plans to acquire two business parks and an industrial building complex in Singapore from a Mapletree REIT for a total of S$535.3 million ($413 million), marking the Canadian giant’s maiden property investment in the city-state.

The three assets, spanning a total gross floor area of 1.8 million square feet (167,225 square metres), include The Strategy and The Synergy business parks at the International Business Park estate in Jurong Lake District and the Woodlands Central cluster in northern Singapore, Brookfield said in a Friday announcement. The properties are held by Mapletree Industrial Trust, the REIT sponsored by Temasek-owned Mapletree Investments.

Andrew Burych, Brookfield’s head of East Asia real estate, said the buy reflected the asset manager’s strong conviction in Singapore’s high-tech R&D sector.

“As the gateway to Southeast Asia and a major strategic manufacturing hub, Singapore and its high-tech business parks are benefiting from decades of government initiatives designed to attract and retain global multinational companies and support the growth of Singaporean companies,” Burych said.

MIT Cashes Out

The Strategy consists of two tower buildings of six and 12 storeys with a gross floor area of 725,171 square feet, while The Synergy comprises a 10-storey tower and a five-storey podium with a GFA of 445,231 square feet. The Woodlands Central cluster includes seven-storey and five-storey “high tech” buildings with a GFA of 601,674 square feet.

The sale consideration for the three assets represents a 2.6 percent premium to an independent valuation of S$521.5 million as of March, as well as a 22.1 percent increase on the properties’ original investment cost of S$438.4 million, Mapletree Industrial Trust’s manager said in a filing.

The divestment, which is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2025, aligns with MIT’s strategy of optimising portfolio composition while maintaining agility to seize opportunities that will create sustainable returns, said Ler Lily, CEO of the manager.

“Following the completion of the divestment, Singapore assets remain a key component of MIT’s portfolio and account for approximately 44.4 percent of MIT’s assets under management,” she said. “MIT’s properties in Singapore will continue to provide portfolio stability and growth, as we pursue portfolio rejuvenation and rebalancing efforts through selective divestments of properties and accretive investments.”

The net proceeds from the disposal will be used to repay outstanding borrowings and reduce leverage and borrowing costs for MIT, which posted a 0.5 percent revenue dip and flat earnings for its March-ended quarter.

Scaling Up in APAC

Brookfield has had a presence in Singapore since 2014 and launched a private wealth unit in the city-state three years ago with partner Oaktree Capital Management.

At Mingtiandi’s 2024 Singapore Forum in September, Burych announced that Brookfield was preparing to ramp up its bets in the Asia Pacific region after entering the region’s real estate space in 2007 with the $3.6 billion acquisition of Australian construction giant Multiplex.

Earlier this year, Brookfield acquired a stake in the Gajoen commercial complex in Tokyo’s Meguro ward, as well as a Nagoya logistics project, for a total of $1.6 billion and sold a 12-building Sydney logistics estate to a fund backed by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Korea Investment Corporation for A$330 million ($210 million).

This month, the Canadian giant announced nearly $6 billion in fresh commitments to its largest-ever real estate fund, a $16 billion global opportunistic vehicle targeting distressed commercial properties.