The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Brookfield said on Monday it would buy industrial real estate investment trust Peakstone Realty Trust for about $1.2-billion (U.S.), as it looks to cash in on demand for warehouses and industrial storage. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that demand for warehouses has skyrocketed as booming artificial-intelligence infrastructure investments led to the creation of more data centres over the years. Brookfield said it aims to use the deal as a means to expand its industrial real estate platform for the warehouse and industrial outdoor storage sector. The company plans to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Peakstone for $21 (U.S.) apiece in cash. The proposed purchase price represents a premium of 34 per cent to Peakstone's share price last Friday. The deal is expected to close by the end of the second quarter. Citigroup Global Markets is serving as Brookfield's financial adviser for the deal. Brookfield chief executive officer Bruce Flatt said at a Goldman Sachs conference in December that demand for AI infrastructure was rising globally as governments and large cloud companies seek to warehouse computing capacity. Peakstone owns 76 industrial properties.