Manulife buys five Montreal properties for $75.9-million

Manulife Financial's real-estate arm has acquired five commercial properties in the Montreal area for $75.9-million.

The deal with the Redbourne Realty Fund announced Friday includes three office and two industrial properties totalling 440,297 square feet.

The financial services company bought the properties for its Manulife Canadian Property Portfolio, a real-estate investment fund that is offered to institutional investors.

"Montreal is a market we know well and these properties are an excellent complement to the Manulife Canadian property portfolio," said Kevin Adolphe, global head of private asset management for Manulife financial and president and CEO of Manulife Real Estate.

"The acquisition is completely in line with the fund's strategy to provide institutional investors with an opportunity to invest in a quality, diversified property portfolio that offers income stability while also preserving capital."

With the acquisition announced Friday, the portfolio now holds 19 income producing properties totalling 2.7 million square feet, with assets under management of $422-million.