CPPIB JV acquires $1.6b student housing portfolio

A consortium of the C$298 billion ($223 billion) Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Singapore’s GIC sovereign wealth fund and The Scion Group has acquired three portfolios of U.S. student housing for approximately $1.6 billion through their student housing joint venture entity, Scion Student Communities.

CPPIB and GIC each own a 45 percent interest in the three portfolios, and Scion owns the remaining 10 percent.

The three portfolios comprise six class A properties located primarily in the southern United States for $385 million, 11 class A properties in premier university markets across the United States for $640 million, and 12 recapitalizations of legacy Scion-owned and -operated communities in leading campus markets across the United States for $550 million.

“The U.S. student housing sector is an attractive investment opportunity, driven by secular strength in enrollment growth and favorable supply dynamics,” says Hilary Spann, managing director and