King & Spalding announced today its role as legal advisor in the formation of the TFI-Hines Brazil Income Real Estate Fund, the first Shari’ah-compliant property fund in Brazil. The fund completed its initial acquisition on July 2 — a nearly $50 million investment in the World Trade Centre complex in São Paulo, Brazil.
The TFI-Hines Brazil Income Real Estate Fund will provide investors with access to Shari’ah-compliant investment opportunities in Brazilian real estate. The fund is a joint endeavor between The First Investor, the investment banking division of Qatar’s Barwa Bank Group, and U.S.-based Hines International Real Estate Holdings.
The King & Spalding legal team that advised on the fund’s formation and first investment was led by partners John Wilson (investment funds) and Isam Salah (Islamic finance practice group leader), with support from associates Spencer Johnson, Dave Powell and James Stull.
“We appreciate the opportunity provided by Hines and TFI to work on this groundbreaking transaction, not only as the first Shari’ah-compliant property fund in Brazil, but one that is also designed to achieve tax efficiency,” said Salah. “This transaction is in keeping with our firm’s long-standing reputation for innovative Shari’ah-compliant investment fund structures in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, the U.S. and now Brazil.”
