Norges, Asana Join Forces on $500M Retail Acquisition Spree

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is lining up another bet on United States real estate.

Norges Bank Investment Management is teaming up with Charlotte-based Asana Partners to invest $500 million in retail properties, Bisnow reported. The partners announced the investment on Tuesday.

The fund, Asana Partners Strategic Partners I, is launching with a 50 percent stake in a portfolio of grocery-anchored retail centers, though the specifics of those properties were not disclosed. In addition to that popular category, the investment will expand into unanchored centers, street retail and mixed-used properties.

The fund “reflects our shared conviction in the strength and resilience of neighborhood retail real estate,” Asana partner Reed Kracke said in a statement.

Asana counts more than $9 billion in assets under management. Its real estate portfolio spans more than 10 million square feet across 25 cities. In February, Asana acquired the Seacliff Village retail plaza in Huntington Beach, California for $151 million from Barings.

Norges, meanwhile, has roughly $2.2 trillion in assets under management. In September, Norges and Beacon Capital Partners acquired 1177 Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan for $571 million. Norges took a 95 percent stake in the 47-story office building, while Beacon acquired the remaining stake and assumed management duties.

In December, it announced plans to diversify its global real estate portfolio, planning to invest up to 7 percent of its capital on assets across the world.

Last month, an investment group led by TPG and including PSP Investments, La Caisse and Norges acquired operator Echo Realty at a roughly $2 billion valuation. The company counts more than 230 retail centers in its portfolio, primarily in the Midwest and Southeast.

Echo acquired or developed more than 16 million square feet since its founding in 2000. Grocery store anchors are critical parts of the portfolio, a tenant roster including Giant Eagle, Publix, Harris Teeter, Safeway, Acme Markets and Whole Foods.

— Holden Walter-Warner