Abacus and Heitman in $600m joint venture THE listed fund manager Abacus Property Group has formed a $600 million joint venture with Chicago-based property investor Heitman. The parties will contribute equity of up to $266m, with targeted gross assets of about $600m. On behalf of an unnamed global institutional investor, Heitman will provide 75 per cent of the equity, with Abacus funding the balance. Abacus will provide local property management services and share in the asset management responsibilities. The first asset to go into the new wholesale fund will be a North Sydney office bought for $35.6m. Deutsche Bank property analysts said it would be Abacus's first venture into the wholesale property investment management segment. They said Abacus would stand to receive incremental base fees from management from the joint venture, but it would have a minimal impact on the company's bottom line in the short term. "We believe the key positive take-out from the announcement is their ability to source high-quality, third-party capital from major investors other than the Kirsh Group," the analysts said. The South African Kirsh Group, controlled by Nathan Kirsh, holds a 27.4 per cent stake in Abacus. Heitman chief executive Maury Tognarelli said the joint venture would continue the company's global expansion. Over the past 30 years, it had expanded through partnerships to Europe and Asia, and manages assets valued at $US23 billion ($22bn). Abacus shares closed 3c lower at $2.10.