One of Canada’s largest-ever real estate investment trusts deals has officially closed, as Dream Industrial REIT and Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund GIC have finalized their $5.9 billion acquisition of Summit Industrial Income REIT.
The deal, in the works since early November, required final approval from the federal government under the Investment Canada Act, which reviews foreign acquisitions of Canadian businesses. Dream and Summit are both based in Toronto, while GIC is a Singapore-based global investment firm established in 1981.
Dream's acquisition roughly doubles its size in Canada and is the largest such transaction in the country since a consortium led by Montreal-based Canderel Real Estate Property Inc. paid $5.7 billion for Quebec City-based Cominar REIT in October 2021.
The cash transaction sees Dream and GIC taking on Summit’s debt while paying its unitholders $23.50 per share. Summit will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Summit’s portfolio includes 28 properties in Quebec, 79 in Ontario and 50 in Alberta, according to its website.