Rio de Janeiro: Abu Dhabi Investment Authority agreed to join Brazil’s Iron House Real Estate to invest in the country’s first Four Seasons luxury hotel, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Adia will invest about 400 million reais (Dh413.8 million, $113 million) for half of the project, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. G5 Evercore advised Iron House, the person said. The agreement is final, according to the people familiar with the situation.
The 240-room Four Seasons hotel, set to open in 2017 in one of Sao Paulo’s key business districts, will have views of the Octavio Frias de Oliveira bridge over the Pinheiros River, according to Iron House’s website.
Adia joins investors such as Blackstone Group LP and Brookfield Asset Management Inc in buying Brazilian real estate even as the economy falls into a recession and President Dilma Rousseff faces calls for her impeachment. In addition to lower asset prices, foreign investors are taking advantage of a local currency that has depreciated 36 per cent against the dollar in the past year.
Adia declined to comment, as did Iron House Real Estate, which is backed by Brazilian family company Grupo Cornelio Brennand. A representative for G5 Evercore declined to comment.
The sovereign wealth fund has posted gains of 7.4 per cent annually over the past 20 years and is boosting in-house teams in areas such as real estate and private equity to increase returns.
