Safehold Forms $348 Million Ground Lease Joint Venture with Brookfield Across Multifamily, Office, Industrial and Hospitality Real Estate
NEW YORK — June 11, 2026 — Safehold Inc. (NYSE: SAFE) has announced the formation of a joint venture with a Brookfield Properties affiliate, structured around a diversified portfolio of ground leases spread across the United States. Brookfield will purchase a non-controlling 49% interest in the venture at a gross valuation of approximately $348 million, with Safehold retaining majority control and day-to-day management of the assets.
The contributed assets generate current annualized cash ground rent of approximately $14 million. Safehold said it intends to use net proceeds from the transaction for debt repayment and general corporate purposes.
Deal Structure and Financial Terms
Under the terms of the agreement, Safehold will maintain operational control of the portfolio, and the joint venture is expected to be consolidated on Safehold's financial statements. Brookfield's investment will be recognized as an equity non-controlling interest. Safehold also retains a series of call options beginning after year seven to repurchase Brookfield's stake.
"This joint venture creates several important benefits for Safehold, de-leveraging the balance sheet with capital priced below our current equity cost of capital, increasing liquidity and capacity to pursue new ground lease investments, demonstrating institutional demand in the asset class and retaining future flexibility to repurchase the venture assets," said Brett Asnas, Chief Financial Officer of Safehold.
Brookfield's Strategic Rationale
"We are pleased to partner with Safehold on this transaction, which provides access to a diversified portfolio of high-quality ground leases in major U.S. markets," said Ben Brown, Co-President of Real Estate, Brookfield. "We continue to see compelling opportunities to deploy flexible capital across high-quality real estate investment opportunities supported by durable real estate fundamentals and stable cash flows while tailoring capital solutions to support our partners' balance sheet objectives."
Eastdil Secured, L.L.C. and Bank of America acted as financial advisors to Safehold on the transaction.
Portfolio Composition and the Ground Lease Model
The press release describes the contributed assets as diversified across the United States but does not disclose specific property names, addresses, square footage, unit counts, or individual market allocations. Safehold's broader business model spans ground leases underlying multifamily, office, industrial, hospitality, student housing, life science and mixed-use properties.
In a ground lease structure, Safehold owns the land beneath a building while the building owner holds the leasehold estate. Safehold's cash flows consist of ground rent payments that are senior in the capital stack to the leasehold equity. Safehold has described itself as the creator of the modern ground lease industry, having launched the model in 2017.
Additional information on Safehold is available at www.safeholdinc.com.
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