CPPIB investing in Seattle real estate, BCI in legacy acquirer

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. are purchasing an office tower in Seattle for US$625 million.

The property is 98 per cent leased with Amazon.com Inc. occupying a majority of the building. It’s the latest investment in Seattle real estate by the partnership, which also jointly owns the nearby Hill7 office tower.

“We’re pleased to expand our partnership with Hudson Pacific through the acquisition of 1918 8th Ave.,” said Hilary Spann, managing director and head of real estate for the Americas at the CPPIB, in a press release. “Hudson Pacific is a leading real-estate investor and operator and this asset presents a compelling opportunity to add a high-quality investment with a strong cash flow profile to our joint portfolio in Seattle.”

Read: CPPIB and real-estate investor acquire Seattle office

In other investment news, the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. and private equity firm Cinven are acquiring Compre Group from CBPE Capital.

Compre is a consolidator of discontinued non-life insurance portfolios and has operations in the U.K., Bermuda, Finland, Germany, Malta and Switzerland.

“The BCI’s investment in Compre follows as a result of our proactive, sector-focused origination strategy and relationship-building efforts with the company,” said Jim Pittman, executive vice-president and global head of private equity at the BCI, in a press release. “We look forward to supporting Compre in its development and in turn providing attractive and stable long-term risk-adjusted returns for our pension plan and insurance fund clients.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, according to the release.

Read: BCI investing in Indian telecommunications, CPPIB in Brazilian real estate