The Toronto-based group confirmed the purchase and announced it was being made in conjunction with Barclays Capital, a unit of Barclays Bank. The block comprises 555,000-sf offices connected to shops. Major tenants include the McGraw-Hill Cos. and BP.

Gordon Arnell, chairman of Brascan International, states that, "we are pleased to be purchasing 20 Canada Square. We look forward to continuing to enhance our office presence in London and build on our relationship with Canary Wharf Group and Songbird Estates."

Brascan and Canary Wharf founder Paul Reichmann made a hostile offer for the quoted company, Canary Wharf, in May but lost out to the Songbird consortium comprising Morgan Stanley, private investor Simon Glick and Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s Whitehall Street Real Estate Fund.

The Canadian company has been busy transforming itself into an asset manager. On March 9, it agreed to reduce its 41% ownership stake in metals producer Noranda Inc. through a deal under which Noranda will acquire nickel miner Falconbridge Ltd. Then in February, Brascan agreed to buy $1 billion of assets from Weyerhaeuser Co. and announced a $50-million deal to acquire New York-based money manager Hyperion Capital Management Inc. But the Canada Square acquisition is the developer's first major deal in the UK.

More deals at Canary Wharf are expected with Songbird quietly marketing a number of key sites. The board plans to dispose of 10% of total space in the east London estate. The only one officially on the market is 15 Westferry Circus, which is let to Morgan Stanley. Around six bids have been made for the 170,000-sf building, which is marketed through Jones Lang LaSalle at a 6% yield.