GTIS Partners puts Brazil real estate on the block

U.S. private equity firm GTIS Partners LP has put four major properties in Sao Paulo up for sale, four people with knowledge of the matter said, in what could be one of Brazil’s largest real estate transactions in recent years. GTIS, which has about $5 billion of real estate assets under management, has placed its Infinity and Vista Faria Lima towers on the block, said the sources, who requested anonymity as the matter is private. GTIS has also put two large warehouses outside the city on the market, they added. The auction, which could bring close to $400 million for the office towers alone, is the latest sign of a revival in Brazil’s commercial property market as vacancy rates fall following a multi-year rout. Warehouses are also an increasingly hot commodity in Brazil as e-commerce takes off in Latin America’s largest economy. The Infinity tower in particular boasts big-name tenants, including the Brazilian units of Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Credit Suisse AG, as well as Facebook Inc, Apple Inc and Thomson Reuters Corp competitor Bloomberg LP. GTIS declined to comment on the sale, but said the firm continues to be an active buyer in Brazilian real estate.