Canada firm consolidates in India with major deals

Hotels, gas pipeline, real estate. Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management seems to be on a deal-making spree in India.

Last week, an investment trust led by Brookfield bought Reliance Industries' East West Pipeline for ~13,000 crore ($1.87 billion). On Monday, it announced a ~3,950-crore deal to acquire assets of Hotel Leela Venture.

Two announcements in two weeks could be a coincidence, as both were in the works and it can take 8-9 months to close a deal.

‘‘They are optimistic about India, and see value,” said a chief executive of a large infrastructure fund.

Brookfield is not alone in its bullishness on India. “It is not just Brookfield, almost all sovereign funds from West Asia, Singapore as well as Canadian pension funds such as CPPIB and CDPQ have been buying operating

projects,” a lawyer, who advises these investors, said. India has emerged as a key destination for Brookfield after its core markets in the US and Europe.

Brookfield recently raised $50 billion across three flagship funds in real estate, infrastructure, and private equity.

“If we have the right opportunities, I see no reason why $10 billion could not come here,” Anuj Ranjan, senior managing partner and regional head, Middle East and Southeast Asia, Brookfield Asset Management, recently told a publication.

So far, Brookfield has invested around $7 billion in India. The two recent deals would take the tally close to $10.5 billion.

Other major deals include acquisitions of office and retail assets of Hiranandani Developers in Mumbai for $1 billion and acquisition of Equinox Business Park, a commercial property in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex, from the Essar Group for ~2,400 crore.

It has also invested in roads and renewable energy. It was also in talks to buy the tower assets of Reliance Communications, but the talks fell through.