BROOKFIELD PROPERTIES

WHAT NEXT?
COMPANY OVERVIEW

 Primarily started as a sports facility management company in 1924, in Canada as Canada Arena Corporation
 Expanded to real estate in the 1960s and in real estate investment business in the 1976.
 Made Foray in North American commercial real estate business in 1990s.
 Acquired properties majorly in US cities where the property is supply constrained. Did some acquisitions along
the way as well.
 Before the events of 9/11 company valued at $9 billion and with 2000 employee strength and majority of
business came from America which was also the base of 2/3 of its workforce.
 Along with property management it also ran business of office management and residential development which
however accounted for less than 8% of the company's revenue.
COMPANY OVERVIEW CONTD…
Strength of the company
 Great employee teamwork and customer service
 High quality portfolio of location
 Superior tenants like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan,
RBS etc.
 Conservative debt structure, excellent cash flow
 Thriving property management and real estate
business in Canada
Company Culture
 Flat organization
 Most leaders homegrown
 High Retention Rates: 90% of the employees have
been there for more than 10 years
 Hiring from outside only done when necessary
 Great camaraderie and socialization among the
employees
SITUATION
• Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield Asset Bruce Flatt is preparing a press
release post the event of 9/11. Four of the towers of Brookfield which
comprised of 30% of its value had sustained damage in the attack, it appears that
the property has been evacuated but it cannot be said for sure .

• It appears from the description of events that 4 Brookfield property in the area
have clearly sustained damage. One Liberty Plaza owned by Brookfield was on
fire and in process of collapsing.

 However, the press release (4.00 PM on same day) signed by Bruce Flatt
states that there has only been cosmetic damages.
 Perhaps he did this to calm investor sentiments and tenants
 The Conundrum: Brookfield has issued the press release but how would he (CEO)
make sure that employees and tenants are safe. The CEO has also been shown worrying
about the employees, how to go about operating normally again and how he will deal
with authorities and investors.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR BRUCE FLATT AND BROOKFIELD
 Exploit close connection of Brookfield with the local authorities to quickly assess if there has been loss of life or any
significant injuries. Set up hotlines for Brookfield employee families where they can report any information and receive
updates about any findings.

Show support to the families who have sustained injuries or loss. Set up a fund from all those who have support and
pledge to bear any medical and counselling expenses and paid leave until they feel that they are ready to join.

As the situation settles down, quickly mobilize team to assess the damage to the property and repair them on war scale.
Deploy company resources from other offices to assist in construction effort on large scale.

Address company shareholders , press and tenants and tell them the truth about the situation and assure them that it is
under control and they will be back in business as soon as things are sorted.

Take concerted effort and bring all stakeholders on board to develop a comprehensive disaster mitigation plan