Brookfield expands Brazil logistics portfolio with R$1.4bn deal
Canada-based asset manager Brookfield has agreed to acquire a portfolio of logistics warehouses from Marq Logistics, formerly GLP, for about R$1.4 billion. The deal involves eight properties totaling 560,000 square meters of gross leasable area (GLA).
Four warehouses are in São Paulo state, in the cities of Vinhedo, São Bernardo do Campo, and Guarulhos, while the other four are in Rio de Janeiro state. One is in Itatiaia, and the other three are in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhoods of Pavuna, Irajá, and Campo Grande. The Irajá property, with 28,500 square meters of GLA, sits on a site with potential for an additional 128,000 square meters of development.
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The deal will increase Brookfield’s logistics warehouse portfolio by 56%, from about 1.2 million to 1.9 million square meters. Of that total, 1.5 million square meters is already operational, while 400,000 square meters is under development or construction.
The deal with Marq had been reported by O Estado de S. Paulo in July but was only completed Monday night (14). Brookfield had previously acquired 345,000 square meters of assets from the former GLP in 2024.
Brookfield financed 70% of the acquisition through debt, with the remainder funded by one of the company’s global real estate investment funds, said Roberto Perroni, Brookfield’s CEO in Brazil.
Marq said the deal “represents the successful execution of the monetization strategy for the fund that owns the assets,” adding that the “portfolio had reached the maturity stage targeted for the divestment, enabling value realization and capital recycling for investors.” Following the sale, the company will manage 2 million square meters of GLA, including 500,000 square meters under construction or development.
The warehouses acquired by Brookfield are Class A and AAA properties and have a 79% occupancy rate, with tenants including Shopee, Colgate, Bimbo, and Claro. According to Perroni, the vacancy is concentrated at the Campo Grande property, the largest in the portfolio, with 139,200 square meters. The São Paulo properties, totaling 258,900 square meters, are fully leased. Brookfield expects to eliminate the vacancy in Rio within 12 months.
Before the deal, the vacancy rate across Brookfield’s assets was just 1%, below the national average of 5%, which is historically low.
The transaction marks Brookfield’s entry into Rio de Janeiro’s logistics market. “We wanted projects close to the city and at the right price,” Perroni said, explaining why the company is only now entering the state. “In this acquisition, we were able to buy below replacement cost,” he said, adding that this is an important part of Brookfield’s strategy when acquiring completed properties.
The company expects rents for logistics warehouses in Rio to enter a period of price increases similar to what has happened around São Paulo, particularly over the past two years.
In the Guarulhos region, Brookfield has increased the rent on one of its properties from R$16 to R$50 per square meter over the past decade. “And we see it going above R$50,” Perroni said.
Across the company’s portfolio, the average increase achieved when leases are renegotiated has been 42%, with tenants remaining in place. One of Brookfield’s warehouses at Guarulhos airport now rents for R$118 per square meter per month, and the company is negotiating another 10,000 square meters at R$130 per square meter, Perroni said.
To help drive rents higher in Rio, Brookfield plans to renovate the properties.
Negotiations with Marq took more than a year, according to Perroni. The company is known for taking a “tough” approach to negotiations and has been taking advantage of limited liquidity in the market.
Transactions involving real estate investment funds through the exchange of fund units have become common, but an all-cash transaction such as Brookfield’s has an advantage, particularly when several assets are involved. In such cases, the seller would have to gradually sell a large volume of fund units and get exposed to market speculation.
Brookfield has preferred to acquire completed properties rather than develop its own warehouses, Perroni said, even when they come with vacancies, “to have bargaining power.” The strategy is to hold the assets for seven to 10 years before selling them.
In its logistics business, about 40% of the company’s revenue comes from e-commerce companies. Brookfield’s largest tenants are Shopee and Mercado Livre.
Politics and data centers
Political uncertainty in Brazil is keeping other buyers away from logistics warehouses and is “concerning” for Brookfield, but not enough to slow new investments in sectors where the company is already active: real estate, renewable energy, and infrastructure.
“Brazil isn’t going to disappear whether Lula or Flávio wins; we’re talking about a 10-year investment, and there will be other presidents,” Perroni said, adding that he sees no reason to hold back investments until after the election, as other asset managers say they are doing. However, the company is acting with “much more caution.” “We are less aggressive on pricing and use more conservative growth assumptions for projects we are acquiring,” he said.
In real estate, the focus is on warehouses, where Perroni still sees significant growth potential, and multifamily rental housing, a market that is still in its early stages in Brazil.
In infrastructure, data centers are the company’s global bet. Brookfield owns data center operator Ascenty and plans to expand the company’s footprint in Brazil by 50%. Ascenty currently has 30 data centers in the country, with additional projects already in its pipeline.
Pressure to slow investment in artificial intelligence—a movement led by some executives at the very companies that developed the technology—has not changed that outlook.
Perroni believes that even if investment slows, the computing capacity already under contract will require more data centers.
Potential barriers to data center development in the United States could also boost demand for facilities in Brazil. “The data has to come here, and that alone could represent a huge volume,” he said.
Roberto Perroni, CEO of Brookfield in Brazil
Silvia Zamboni/Valor
