(Reuters) July 18, 2011 – U.S. investment firm Starwood Capital agreed to buy 33.3 percent of MRV Log, the logistics arm of builder MRV Engenharia (MRVE3.SA), for 250 million reais ($159 million), the Brazilian company said in a statement late on Sunday.

The deal will raise a total of 350 million reais through the sale of 62,650,009 shares of MRV Log. MRV Enghenaria will buy 100 million reais of the shares and Greenwich, Connecticut-based Starwood will buy the rest, MRV Engenharia said in a statement on its Web site.

After the deal closes, MRV Engenharia will own 42 percent of the company.

The resources will go toward expanding MRV Log’s portfolio of assets, the company said in the statement. MRV Log operates and leases warehouse space near major transportation routes in Brazil’s industrialized southeast, according to its website.

With operations in 19 cities, the logistics arm of MRV was created in 2008 for the building of large-scale housing developments, strip malls and other projects. ($1=1.5735 reais)

Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr; Writing by Jeb Blount, editing by Matthew Lewis