US-based asset management company, Blackstone, will enter an agreement to acquire assets from three of GLP's US funds for a purchase price of $18.7 billion USD (€16.7 billion).
This overall transaction totals 179 million square feet (166 million square metres) of urban, infill logistics assets, nearly doubling the size of Blackstone’s existing US industrial footprint.
Blackstone Real Estate’s global opportunistic BREP strategy will acquire 115 million square feet for $13.4 billion USD and its income-oriented non-listed REIT, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT), will acquire 64 million square feet for $5.3 billion USD.
“Logistics is our highest conviction global investment theme today, and we look forward to building on our existing portfolio to meet the growing e-commerce demand,” said Blackstone Global Co-Head, Ken Caplan.
“Our global scale and ability to leverage differentiated investment strategies allowed us to provide a one-stop solution for GLP’s high quality portfolio,” he said.
“GLP was able to leverage our deep operating expertise and global insights in the logistics sector within four years to build and grow an exceptional portfolio,” GLP Chief Investment Officer, Alan Yang.
“We are proud of the business our team built and are confident it will continue to flourish under Blackstone’s leadership. We are looking forward to expanding our footprint in the United States to continue to seize key opportunities in the US market,” he said.
“These properties are a complementary addition to our stabilised commercial real estate portfolio, which is oriented toward our highest conviction themes, such as logistics,” said BREIT Chairman and CEO, Frank Cohen.
Established in Singapore, GLP is a global investment manager with $64 billion USD (€57.2 billion) assets under management in real estate and private equity funds. Its real estate fund platform is one of the largest in the world, spanning 785 million square feet. GLP entered the US real estate market in 2015 and through a series of major acquisitions became the second-largest owner of logistics real estate assets in the country by aggregating high-quality, modern logistics assets across 36 major markets. GLP will remain invested in the US across real estate, technology, and credit and is committed long-term to the US market.
Blackstone’s real estate business has approximately $140 billion (€125.2 billion) in investor capital under management. It operates around the globe with investments and people in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Blackstone is one of the leading owners of logistics properties today with assets in North America, Europe and Asia. In the US, Blackstone built and sold Indcor and successfully replicated this strategy with Logicor in Europe. Inclusive of this transaction, Blackstone has acquired over 930 million square feet of logistics globally since 2010.