Large Platform Events | Issue 23.15

 

Summary of Transaction Headlines

Reuters | “Blackstone Raises $30.4 Billion for Latest Real Estate Fund”

Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced the final close of its latest global real estate fund, Blackstone Real Estate   Partners X (“BREP X”). BREP X has $30.4 Billion of total capital commitments the largest real estate or private equity drawdown fund ever raised. In total, Blackstone’s three opportunistic strategies (Global, Asia, Europe) now have $50 Billion of capital commitments. Blackstone has delivered a 16% net IRR on over $100 Billion of committed capital in the BREP global funds over more than 30 years. Anticipating changing macrotrends, Blackstone Real Estate shifted its portfolio away from assets facing headwinds such as traditional office and malls and is approximately 80% concentrated in logistics, rental housing, hospitality, lab office and data centers. BREP X’s scale and discretionary capital position it well to capitalize on opportunities in its highest conviction sectors across the globe.

CoStar | “Blackstone Agrees £700 Million ($871 Million USD) Takeover of Industrials REIT”

Private equity giant Blackstone is close to securing a £700 Million ($871 Million USD) takeover deal for Industrials REIT after the companies agreed the terms for a possible cash offer. The enterprise value of the deal, including debt, comes in at around £700 Million ($871 Million USD). Blackstone will form a new entity controlled by one or more of the investment funds advised by Blackstone to make the offer. Under the terms of the deal, Industrials REIT’s shareholders would receive 168p per ordinary share in cash. The offer represents a premium of 42.4% to Industrials REIT’s closing price of 118.0p per share last Friday.

The Business Journals | “Real Estate Company Lays Off Approximately 75% of its Denver Area Workforce”

Denver based Laramar Group is exiting the property management business to focus on investments and asset management. The company is shutting down its property management operations. As it closes its property management operations companywide, a real estate business with offices in Denver and Chicago is laying off approximately 75% of its Denver workforce in the process. Laramar Group plans to lay off 76 people in the Denver area, according to a recent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice issued to the state March 30.

IREI | “Nuveen Real Estate Acquires High Quality Self Storage Portfolio in the UK”

Nuveen Real Estate has acquired a high-quality portfolio of self-storage properties in the United Kingdom for an undisclosed amount. The portfolio includes four assets totaling  240,000 square feet, consisting of predominantly modern purpose-built properties, which are located across the southeast of England. The four mature, well-located properties trade into dense residential and commercial areas, benefiting from excellent connectivity to transport links and infrastructure. Nuveen acquired the portfolio from self-storage provider Easistore and will form a joint venture with one of the United Kingdom’s major operators, Storage King. Storage King will take a minority stake in the joint venture and contribute 10 percent of the equity capital. The portfolio will be branded and managed by Storage King under its third-party management platform.

Student Housing Business | “Bill Bayless to Retire from American Campus Communities”

Bill Bayless will retire from American Campus Communities (ACC) effective April 21, nearly 30 years after co-founding the company. Bayless led the company as CEO for 20 years before transitioning to the role of vice chair in 2023, shortly after the firm’s 2022 acquisition by Blackstone. Bayless led ACC from its start-up through being the largest and for many years, the only publicly traded company in the student housing sector. He was named vice chair earlier this year when Rob Palleschi was hired as CEO. “Thirty years ago, we founded American Campus Communities with a mission to be the nation’s premier student housing provider with an unrelenting commitment to students, parents, universities and investors,” says Bayless. “Over the decades, I have been blessed to lead a team of the most dedicated and passionate professionals who took that mission to heart and who built the ACC brand into a legacy far beyond my original vision.”

IREI | “Tishman Speyer Expands Asia Pacific Team”

Adrian Lee has joined Tishman Speyer as senior director of acquisitions in its Singapore office. Lee joins Tishman Speyer with more than 15 years of experience in Asia Pacific and with established global real estate transactions totaling close to $4 Billion. In his new role, Lee will source and execute new investment opportunities across a wide range of asset classes in Asia Pacific, including the office, retail, industrial, life sciences and multi-family sectors. Lee most recently served as director, acquisitions for Singapore at AEW Asia. Prior to AEW, Lee had served as head of real estate investments at Homax, and director and portfolio manager at UBS Asset Management. He also held leading investment positions at PGIM Real Estate and Union Investment.

IREI | “Tishman Speyer Brings on New Managing Director”

Rodrigo Cortés has joined Tishman Speyer, one of the world’s top developers, owners, operators and asset managers of first-class real estate, as a managing director. He will lead the firm’s capital partner relationships across the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Southern Europe and Israel. Cortés joins Tishman Speyer from Azora Capital, where he served as head of fundraising and client development. Prior to that, he spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs in London, where he held roles in both mergers & acquisitions and in equity capital markets, always with a strong focus on the real estate industry.