Rival bidders for office buildings owned by a South Australian government agency believe Blackstone has emerged as the successful bidder for the AUD600m (€403m) portfolio.
A source involved with marketing of the portfolio told IPE Real Estate that the first round closed in July last year, and negotiations have continued.
“The government seems to be taking a very long time to come to a decision, and when we asked it said it was in an evaluation stage,” the source said.
“Then the situation changed suddenly within days last week. All the other bidders began talking about Blackstone as the buyer.”
AMP Capital and Abacus Property Group have been named in the media as having shown interest in the office portfolio, which is owned by the Motor Accident Commission, an agency of the South Australian government.
Neither Blackstone nor the South Australian government would comment on market speculation. A JLL team appointed to take the portfolio to the global market also declined to comment.
The portfolio consists of 11 central-business-district and suburban offices and some industrial properties in Australian capital cities.
Most are in Melbourne, followed by Brisbane, with two office buildings in Adelaide, and one each in Sydney and Perth.
Blackstone is also currently selling its AUD3.5bn retail portfolio in Australia, as reported last month.
