Brookfield Asset Management bought a controlling stake in a Dubai-based firm’s real estate unit, securing a slice of prime warehousing space in one of the world’s hottest commercial property markets.

The Canadian asset manager is buying into Gulf Islamic Investments LLC’s realty platform that owns about 1.5 million square feet of warehouse space in the United Arab Emirates, people familiar with the matter said. 

For Brookfield, the deal marks its first foray into the Middle East logistics space. The GII unit controls warehouses in Jebel Ali Free Zone and National Industries Park that are already leased out to tenants, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private.

Representatives for Brookfield and GII declined to comment. GII manages about US$4.5 billion in assets across India, the U.S., and the Persian gulf

The transaction comes amid a boom in Dubai’s commercial real estate market and adds to Brookfield’s assets in the emirate, which include a stake in the largest office tower in the city’s financial hub.

Alongside state-owned Investment Corp. of Dubai, Brookfield recently sold a stake in that tower — ICD Brookfield Place — at a valuation of as much as $1.5 billion, Bloomberg News has reported.

Brookfield is one of the largest foreign investors in the Middle East with assets of about $8 billion across private equity and real estate. Its Gulf ties have been expanding as the region’s rulers seek to diversify their economies and open up to more foreign capital.