OMERS is on the prowl for global investment opportunities as it looks to brings billions of dollars in capital off the sidelines.

“We have a lot. We have more dry powder than at any time in certainly the last 20 years, waiting for opportunities to deploy,” CEO Blake Hutcheson told Bloomberg. “All of our teams are scouring the Earth, knowing what we’re great at, looking for opportunities. They’re all extremely active.”

Toronto-based OMERS has about $23.1 billion in liquid assets, with the room to borrow an additional $1.9 billion and remain within its 10% leverage limit, boundaries, according to the pension manager’s recently released financial report.

OMERS is looking to revitalize its real estate portfolio. Net real estate returns fell 3.1% in the first half.

A markdown of some property valuations, largely due to high interest rates that have depressed valuations, factored into the decline. Hutcheson told Bloomberg.

“Coming off this year, we hope to put those valuation issues behind us and see some light reappear in 2025. But it’s been longer than we expected,” he told the wire service.

Despite real estate’s troubles, OMERS’ overall net return increased $5.6 billion, or 4.4%, in the first half.

Public equities led the way with a 10.4% gain, while private credit (7.8%) and infrastructure (4.1%) made posted notable increases.

“Real estate valuation losses detracted from returns, outweighing the growing income generated by our high-quality properties,” said Jonathan Simmons, OMERS’ chief financial and strategy officer, in a news release.

While releasing its financials, OMERS announced that it has secured planning permission to develop a 340,000-square-foot logistics facility on a 15-acre brownfield site adjacent to London’s Heathrow Airport. OMERS is partnering on the project with a European developer and logistics asset manager.

Also, OMERS indicated that the sale of Toronto-based LifeLabs is on track.

As Connect previously reported, OMERS agreed to sell LifeLabs to U.S.-based giant Quest Diagnostics for $1.35 billion in cash and debt.

Pictured: Future logistics facility near Londons’ Heathrow Airport

Image: Oxford Properties