Large Platform Events | Issue 24.36

 

Summary of Transaction Headlines

IPE Real Assets | “Blackstone and CPP Investments Buy AirTrunk in A$24 Billion ($16.2 Billion USD) Deal”

Blackstone Funds and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) have bought Asia Pacific data center platform AirTrunk from Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) in a A$24 Billion ($16.2 Billion USD) deal. MAM and PSP Investments have sold their 88% stake in AirTrunk. In addition to this, AirTrunk’s founder and CEO, Robin Khuda, will also sell a portion of his shares.

The Real Deal | “NexPoint’s $4 Billion Plano Life Science Campus Wins Local Approval”

NexPoint Advisors is closer to fulfilling its vision of transforming Dallas-Fort Worth’s largest vacant office property into a thriving life sciences campus. The Plano City Council greenlighted Nexpoint’s plan to redevelop the 1.6 Million-Square-Foot former Electronic Data Systems campus at 5400 Legacy Drive into a $4 Billion life sciences and medical center. 

PE Hub | “Partners Group Leads $1.9 Billion Investment in EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure”

Partners Group, one of the largest firms in the global private markets industry, acting on behalf of its clients, has led a $1.9 Billion equity investment in portfolio company EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure, a leading developer, owner, and operator of scalable hyperscale data centers in the US. The investment will fund the continued development and expansion of EdgeCore’s data center platform. The investment is the second equity capital raise that Partners Group has led since acquiring EdgeCore in 2022 and was conducted in conjunction with the firm’s clients.

Place North West | “Manchester Set to Approve Renaker’s £1 Billion ($1.3 Billion USD) Skyscraper Plan Next Week”

Five towers ranging from 47 to 71 storeys and featuring 2,388 apartments make up the largest project yet at the developer’s skyline-altering Great Jackson Street scheme. Renaker wants to add to its New Jackson tall building cluster, arguably its most ambitious scheme to date, a quintet of buildings that have a combined gross development value of more than £1 Billion ($1.3 Billion USD), according to viability statements prepared by both Savills and Roger Hannah.

Yahoo Finance | “Blackstone Buys Stake in $1.2 Billion European Logistics Fund”

Private equity giant Blackstone has agreed to buy an 80% stake in a European warehouse portfolio run by landlord Burstone, the latest push by the U.S. investment manager into warehouses that have boomed alongside the rise of e-commerce. The Johannesburg-listed company, formerly Investec’s property fund, has agreed to sell the controlling stake in the 1.1 Billion Euros ($1.2 Billion USD) portfolio with properties in seven countries, including Germany, France, and the Netherlands, to Blackstone, according to a Burstone stock exchange announcement.

Seeking Alpha | “TPG Sells its Stake in Sixth Street for More Than $1 Billion, Ending Long Partnership”

TPG (NASDAQ: TPG) sold its stake in Sixth Street back to that company for more than $1 Billion, ending one of Wall Street’s longest and most profitable partnerships. The deal was negotiated after TPG acquired Angelo Gordon, a business that directly competed with Sixth Street’s lending business, Semafor said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Business Wire | “Development Ventures Group Plans to Grow Student Housing Portfolio to Over $1 Billion USD”

Development Ventures Group is moving to dramatically grow its presence in student housing, with plans to grow its student housing development portfolio to over $1 Billion worth of assets in the next three years. The national developer, known as the Deven Group, works in a wide range of niches, having developed such projects as the CNBC global headquarters in New Jersey; the AT&T Park baseball stadium in San Francisco; the Waldorf-Astoria and Hilton Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando; and the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California.

IPE Real Assets | “Starwood to Buy UK REIT Balanced Commercial Property for £673 Million ($884 Million USD)”

Starwood Capital has made a £673.5 Million ($884 Million) offer for UK real estate investment trust (REIT) Balanced Commercial Property Trust (BCPT). Starwood, through its funds, has agreed to offer the FTSE 250 REIT’s shareholders 96.00p in cash for each share held in a take-private deal that requires 75% of shareholder votes. As of 3 September, the last business day before this announcement, BCPT’s market capitalization was about £598.4 Million.

Property Week | “SEGRO Agrees £552 Million ($725 Million USD) Takeover of Tritax EuroBox”

Industrial giant SEGRO has agreed a £552 Million ($725 Million USD) deal to buy smaller rival Tritax EuroBox as Canadian group Brookfield continues to ponder a bid. SEGRO and Tritax EuroBox said they had reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended all-share deal. SEGRO has agreed to pay 0.0765 in new shares per Tritax share, and a takeover will, if completed, result in Tritax shareholders receiving a dividend of 1.05p per share for the quarter ending 30 September.

Bloomberg | “Man Group Nears Deal to Sell 1,700 Rental Homes to AMH”

Man Group Plc, the world’s biggest publicly traded hedge fund firm, is in advanced talks to sell a portfolio of roughly 1,700 US rental houses to single-family landlord AMH, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Man Group, headquartered in London, is being advised by Roofstock, which dubbed the portfolio “Project Monarch,” said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. 

Yahoo Finance | “Investcorp Co-CEO Leaves $52 Billion Asset Manager in Shakeup”

The Middle East’s largest alternative asset manager is set to lose one of its most senior managers as part of a sweeping reshuffle that will result in the Co-Chief Executive Officer role being scrapped, with the Chairman taking on more responsibilities. Hazem Ben-Gacem is stepping down as Co-Chief Executive Officer and leaving Bahrain-based Investcorp Holdings, which manages about $52 Billion in assets. Rishi Kapoor, who was also Co-CEO, will take on a new role as Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer.

IPE Real Assets | “ADIC’s European Real Estate Head Vos Joins Scape Group”

Martijn Vos, Abu Dhabi Investment Council’s (ADIC) European real estate head, has joined student accommodation provider Scape Group. Vos has been appointed CEO of Europe for Scape Group’s Scape and Morro brands to spearhead new investments in student housing and co-living across Europe.

Pensions & Investments | “Maryland State Retirement Names Deputy CIO”

Thomas Kim has been named deputy CIO for the $68 Billion Maryland State Retirement & Pension System, Baltimore. It is a new position. Kim, who started Aug. 28, will report to CIO Andrew Palmer and work alongside fellow Deputy CIO Robert Burd, providing strategic direction and counsel across the entire investment portfolio, the pension fund announced Aug. 30.

Commercial Observer | “Rite Aid Emerges from Bankruptcy With New CEO”

Rite Aid has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has appointed a new CEO as it moves toward operating as a private company, the drugstore chain. After filing for bankruptcy in October 2023 and reporting Billions in losses, Rite Aid now operates what it describes as a “rightsized store footprint” of about 1,400 stores down from approximately 2,000 nearly a year ago.

IPE Real Assets | “Steinberg Named Global Head of EQT Exeter”

Henry Steinberg has assumed the role of Global Head of EQT Exeter. Ward Fitzgerald, Founder and Global Head of EQT Exeter, has decided to step down. Matthew Brodnik, CIO of North American Industrial, assumes the role of Global CIO of EQT Exeter. Since founding the firm nearly 20 years ago, Fitzgerald has, together with EQT, led EQT Exeter to become a global real estate investment manager with nearly $30 Billion of equity under management.