Real estate manager Cadillac Fairview said on Friday that it agreed to sell a 50 per cent interest in its Vancouver portfolio to Ontario Pension Board and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.

Privately held Cadillac Fairview said it would sell 4 million square feet of leasable space, including shopping centers such as CF Pacific Centre.

"This deal gives us the rare opportunity to gain direct exposure to the tightly held Vancouver real estate market," President and CEO of Ontario Pension Board Mark Fuller said.

The pension and workplace safety boards would each buy 25 per cent, Cadillac Fairview said.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.