Brookfield Place off Bay Street in Toronto.MARK BLINCH/Reuters
Brookfield Asset Management Inc., Canada's largest asset manager, will spin off about 35 per cent of Brookfield Business Partners LP through a special dividend.
The payment is worth about 50 cents a share, or about $500-million, the Toronto-based company said Wednesday in a statement. The new unit will own and operate almost all of the business services and industrial operations previously held by Brookfield Asset Management's private equity platform.
"It is the right time for us to create BBP and give our shareholders an opportunity to participate directly in its operations and growth," Brookfield Chief Executive Officer Bruce Flatt said in the statement. "We have seen substantial growth in our private equity platform over the last five years and continue to see significant opportunities globally for this business."
Brookfield Asset Management is increasing its fundraising target for the year by as much as 20 per cent to $25-billion as it scours volatile global markets for purchases. The company's assets under management reached $218-billion at the end of the second quarter.
The BBP unit is expected to be listed on stock exchanges in the U.S. and Canada in the first quarter of 2016 subject to approvals, the company said.