Canada's Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has agreed to buy University House Communities Group's (USC) entire US student housing portfolio for $1.4B, in a partnership with The Scion Group and Singapore's sovereign-wealth fund GIC announced yesterday.

The deal, which marks CPPIB's first entry into US student housing, comprises 13,000 beds across 18 communities in addition to four that are in development.

They are near Florida State University, California State University at Fullerton and the University of Texas.

CPPIG and GIC will each own a 47.5% interest with Scion—the nation's largest private operator of student housing—taking the remaining 5%.

Peter Ballon, CPPIB's head of real estate investments in the Americas, says the portfolio offered a chance to get in on the US student housing market in well-located areas.

To offset global market volatility, CPPIB said the JV would pursue additional high-quality student housing assets in an effort to diversify its investments worldwide. [Bloomberg]