Dealmaker: Blackstone to Buy GLP Industrial Assets for $19B

Blackstone, New York, agreed to acquire 179 million square feet of urban infill logistics assets from Global Logistic Properties, Singapore, in one of the largest-ever private real estate transactions.

Blackstone Real Estate’s Blackstone Real Estate Partners will acquire 115 million square feet for $13.4 billion and its non-listed REIT, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, will acquire 64 million square feet for $5.3 billion. The purchase will nearly double Blackstone’s existing U.S. industrial footprint.

Global investment manager GLP entered the U.S. real estate market in 2014 and became the second-largest industrial asset owner within 12 months. The firm currently has $16 billion of assets under management in the country.

Blackstone Real Estate Global Co-Head Ken Caplan called logistics the firm’s most important global investment theme and said the firm looks forward to building its portfolio to meet ever-growing e-commerce demand. The Commerce Department said U.S. online consumer spending increased more than 14 percent last year to $513 billion.

Bloomberg reported Prologis and Brookfield Asset Management also bid on the portfolio, which includes nearly 1,300 assets.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as Blackstone’s financial advisors and Citigroup Global Markets, Eastdil Secured LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as the firm’s financing advisor. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett provided Blackstone’s legal counsel.

Kirkland & Ellis served as GLP legal counsel in the transaction. Eastdil Secured LLC, Citigroup Global Markets and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC also served as GLP’s financial advisors.