Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), Dream Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust, and Dream Asset Management Corporation have launched a new joint venture to acquire last-mile industrial properties in major Canadian markets.
The partners have committed $1.1 billion in equity, including $1.0 billion from CPP Investments (90 percent) and $0.1 billion from Dream Industrial (10 percent). With leverage, the joint venture is expected to have the capacity to acquire approximately $3.0 billion of industrial assets, focusing on properties with strong connectivity to population centres and key transport corridors.
A subsidiary of Dream will act as asset manager for the venture, while a subsidiary of Dream Industrial will provide property management and leasing services.
As an initial step, the joint venture has agreed to acquire 12 Canadian industrial assets totaling 3.6 million square feet across Ontario, Quebec and Alberta from Dream Industrial for $805 million. The initial portfolio is concentrated in core distribution hubs: 37 percent in the Greater Toronto Area, 36 percent in Montreal, 24 percent in Calgary and 3 percent in London, Ontario.
The transaction advances Dream Industrial’s capital recycling strategy. Since 2019, the trust has completed more than $900 million of dispositions and redeployed proceeds into accretive initiatives. It expects to receive over $730 million in net proceeds from the sale, following new debt financing of the initial portfolio within the joint venture. The capital is earmarked for a mix of unit buybacks and strategic growth initiatives on an accretive basis.
“The Canadian industrial sector continues to demonstrate resilient demand and meaningful long-term growth drivers, supported by a structurally high need for well-located space as supply chains and logistics continue to evolve,” CPP Investments managing director and head of real estate Sophie van Oosterom said in a press release. “By partnering with Dream, a leading institutional asset manager and operating platform, we can efficiently scale our exposure in the Canadian market to capture this growth.”
Dream Industrial REIT CEO Alex Sannikov added, “We are excited to partner with CPP Investments to continue to expand our presence in the Canadian industrial market. This new joint venture is highly complementary to the strategic direction of Dream Industrial and our existing private capital partnerships.”
“This new venture with one of the largest and most respected institutional investors globally is a testament to the strength of our platform, our reputation in the sector, and our asset and property management capabilities,” said Dream founder and Chief Responsible Officer Michael Cooper. “With this partnership, we expect to surpass $30 billion of assets under management and increase our growth rate as we continue to build out our institutional asset management business.”
CPP Investments is a professional investment manager responsible for investing the Canada Pension Plan Fund on behalf of more than 22 million contributors and beneficiaries. Headquartered in Toronto, it has offices in Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York City, San Francisco, São Paulo and Sydney, and operates independently from the Canada Pension Plan and governments.
Dream Industrial owns, manages and operates a global portfolio of industrial properties, with interests in and managing 340 industrial assets (552 buildings) totaling about 73.2 million square feet of gross leasable area in key markets across Canada, Europe and the U.S.
Dream Asset Management is the institutional asset management arm of Dream Unlimited Corp., overseeing $28 billion in assets across four Toronto Stock Exchange listed entities, private funds and multiple private partnerships.
The partners were advised by TD Securities, RBC Capital Markets, Colliers Capital Markets and CBRE, while Stikeman Elliott LLP and King & Spalding LLP provided legal advice on establishing the joint venture. National Bank is acting as independent financial advisor and Goodmans LLP as independent legal counsel to Dream Industrial’s special committee.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
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