Ares Management, PSP Investments Form $2.4B U.S. Logistics Partnership

Ares Management is diving deeper into the waters of U.S. logistics.

The $670 billion private equity powerhouse announced Wednesday that it has formed a joint venture with Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) to invest up to $2.4 billion into the development and acquisition of U.S. logistics facilities.

Ares plans to combine its vertically integrated logistics real estate platform, Marq Logistics, with PSP’s scaled capital to invest into “high-conviction markets” and “strategically placed logistics facilities,” according to a release.

Dave Fazekas, head of North America logistics at Ares Real Estate, noted in a statement that his firm was motivated to invest into domestic logistics hubs due to resurgent onshoring trends, growth of digital infrastructure construction, and the economy’s ongoing reliance on e-commerce.

“We are proud to expand Ares’ long-standing relationship with PSP Investments as we leverage our collective scale and experience to identify compelling deployment opportunities and deliver value for tenants, communities and investors,” he said.

The joint venture already plans to invest in a 5.2 million-square-foot seed portfolio of 14 assets in California, Texas and New Jersey.

Laurence Bastien, managing director of real estate investments for the Americas at PSP Investments, emphasized in a statement that the U.S. logistics sector is currently defined by “durable demand drivers and structurally constrained supply,” and the partnership with Ares provides his firm with an operating platform that will “drive value at the asset level.”

“Best-in-class operators, in sectors where our conviction is strongest — that is what our real estate strategy is built around, and this joint venture has both,” added Bastien.