QIC Acquires Stake In Ballston Common Mall, Arlington, Virginia As Part Of Its Joint Venture With Forest City

News provided by

Apr 04, 2016, 09:43 ET

NEW YORK, April 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- QIC, a global diversified alternative investment firm, today confirmed it has further expanded its joint venture relationship with Forest City Realty Trust Inc. through the acquisition of a 49% stake in Ballston Common Mall in Arlington, Virginia.

Steven Leigh, Managing Director of QIC Global Real Estate, said, "The agreement QIC has reached with Forest City expands our interest in the attractive U.S. retail property market, and further demonstrates our flourishing relationship with Forest City, a highly experienced and long-term investor in prime real estate throughout the U.S.

"Our working relationship with Forest City and our complementary experience in master planning, strategic leasing and development activity will be particularly valuable as we extend our partnership to this asset," Mr. Leigh said.

This agreement brings to 12 the total number of assets acquired by QIC on behalf of its clients. In February 2016, QIC announced that it had acquired a 51% stake in the Ridge Hill retail shopping center located in Westchester County, New York.

In 2015, QIC acquired a 100% stake in The Shops at Tanforan shopping center in San Bruno, California, in the San Francisco Bay area, and assisted AustralianSuper in acquiring a 25% stake in Honolulu's Ala Moana Shopping Center.

Ballston Common Mall is a 580,000 square foot enclosed urban retail complex located in an affluent, high-growth corridor approximately four miles west of Washington, D.C. at the intersection of Glebe Road and Wilson Boulevard in the heart of Arlington, Virginia. It is anchored by Macy's, Regal Cinemas and Sport and Health Club and incorporates about 85 speciality retailers.

Ballston Common is poised for a future expansion that will transform it into a mixed-use destination incorporating restaurants, take home food, entertainment, retail and residential. Both QIC and Forest City will work to obtain the required approvals for the proposed master planned development.

Mr. Leigh said this acquisition further expands QIC's participation in the U.S. retail property market as a core element of its business strategy.

"We view the U.S. as very attractive, incorporating familiar drivers in investment markets and real estate operating fundamentals. Our existing portfolio is achieving good income growth off the back of robust retail sales, coupled with a sustained low interest rate environment.

"We see further opportunities here, and our active management approach means that we are constantly monitoring prospects in the market. The continued expansion of our interests in the retail sector across the U.S. enables us to provide our clients with an opportunity to capture the performance of prime U.S. retail real estate markets," he concluded.

About QIC:

QIC is one of the largest institutional investment managers in Australia, with US$57.3 billion¹ in funds under management. QIC has about 90 clients including governments, pension plans, sovereign wealth funds and insurers, spanning Australia, Europe, Asia, Middle East and the US. Headquartered in Brisbane, Australia QIC also has offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and London. For more information, please visit: www.qic.com.

About QIC's Global Real Estate Business:

With approximately US$9.9 billion² invested in Australian and international retail and offices, QIC Global Real Estate has developed a reputation for delivering predictable outcomes for clients over the long term. The team has extensive experience in deal origination and execution, asset management, leasing, marketing and development.

QIC Limited ACN 130 539 123 ("QIC") is a wholesale funds manager and its products and services are not directly available to retail clients. QIC is a company government owned corporation constituted under the Queensland Investment Corporation Act 1991 (Qld). QIC is regulated by State Government legislation pertaining to government owned corporations in addition to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ("Corporations Act"). QIC does not hold an Australian Financial Services ("AFS") licence and certain provisions (including the financial product disclosure provisions) of the Corporations Act do not apply to QIC. Please note however that some wholly owned subsidiaries of QIC have been issued with an AFS licence and are required to comply with the Corporations Act. QIC also has wholly owned subsidiaries authorised, registered or licensed by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"), United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), the Korean Financial Services Commission and Irish Central Bank.

For more information about QIC, our approach, clients and regulatory framework, please refer to our website www.qic.com or contact us directly.

The statements and any opinions in this document (the "Information") are for commentary purposes only and do not take into account any investor's personal, financial or tax objectives, situation or needs. The Information is not intended to constitute personal legal or investment advice and it does not constitute, and should not be construed as, an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy, securities or any other investment, investment management or advisory services.

¹ London 4pm AUD/USD FX rate 0.72755 as at 31 December 2015

² QIC economic interest in AUM as at 31 December 2015 converted to AUD at Spot FX rate for offshore assets.

SOURCE QIC