A Swiss investor is partnering with Brookfield Asset Management to target higher-quality multifamily properties for its U.S. portfolio.

Varia US Properties AG has entered into a $694M joint venture with BAM to reposition a 13-property multifamily portfolio, the company announced Thursday. The joint venture will also provide access to up to $200M in equity to fund new acquisitions. 

The 13 properties in the joint venture comprise 4,112 units across nine states. As part of the deal, Brookfield will own 90% of a $178.4M, four-building portfolio, while Varia would own the other 10% and continue managing the properties.

The other nine buildings are bundled into a $515M, 3,052-unit portfolio in which Brookfield would own 40% of the equity. These buildings would be sold over the next three years, according to a release.

Varia US would retain full ownership of its other four multifamily properties, two of which it plans to sell.

The new venture will back up the company's strategy to focus on the disposition of older properties and use the proceeds to acquire higher-quality properties in the future.

Ropes & Gray's Christopher Roman represented Varia US in the agreement. Varia would receive $48.9M in cash when the deal closes, which is expected to occur in the fourth quarter.

Varia owned a total of 19 properties spanning 5,769 units as of its Q1 2026 report. At the end of March, the company's portfolio was valued at $947M.

Its properties are located in Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Varia US was established in 2015, with the company's assets managed by Geneva-based Stoneweg SA.

In March 2025, Stoneweg and Icona Capital combined their assets to form SWI Group. The company manages €10B in assets across European and U.S. residential, light industrial, logistics, data centers, office and hospitality.

"Partnering with an institution of Brookfield's calibre is a strong reflection of the quality of Varia US's portfolio and of our platform," SWI Group CEO Max-Herve George said in a statement. "This joint venture gives us the firepower and the flexibility to concentrate on high-quality residential communities, while positioning Varia US to grow decisively as the U.S. living sector continues to reward scale and discipline."

On Thursday, the firm announced it was accelerating its shift into digital infrastructure, buying a 70% stake in Genesis Digital Assets. Genesis would be renamed SWI Digital.

SWI Group allocates more than 80% of its capital to its more than 4-gigawatt digital infrastructure portfolio. It intends to increase that share to 90% while also building out an artificial intelligence cloud business to sell compute directly to companies.

Brookfield has been aggressively buying large portfolios of U.S. commercial real estate this year. It is partnering with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to acquire LXP Industrial Trust for $5.2B, formed a $2.1B medical office joint venture with Healthpeak Properties, and bought Peakstone Realty Trust for $1.2B.