Leading global alternatives firm The Blackstone Group is buying industrial warehouses in the US from Singapore-based GLP for $18.7 bn (€16.7 bn), in what it says is the biggest private real estate transaction in history.
The mega-deal is a resounding vote of confidence by the US private equity giant in the logistics sector, which is experiencing a boom fuelled by the popularity of e-commerce and resulting surging demand for parcel delivery.
GLP – which entered Europe with its purchase of developer-investor Gazeley in 2017 – is selling Blackstone a total of 179 million m2, including urban and infill logistics - such as 'last-mile' delivery centres. The final mile to the customer is currently the costliest and most challenging link in the supply chain.
Almost doubling the size of Blackstone’s industrial US portfolio, the deal comprises two component transactions: 115 million m2 costing $13.4 bn (€12 bn) paid by Blackstone Real Estate for its global opportunistic strategy, and 64 million m2 for $5.3 bn (€4.7 bn) paid by Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT).
Ken Caplan, global co-head of Blackstone Real Estate, said: ‘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.
‘Our global scale and ability to leverage differentiated investment strategies allowed us to provide a one-stop solution for GLP’s high quality portfolio.’
Alan Yang, chief investment officer at GLP, 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.
‘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.’
