Blackstone is selling a portfolio of more than 4,500 apartments in 10 Japanese cities in an offering tipped to fetch up to US$1.5bn (€1.35bn).
The vendor is calling for expressions of interest through its advisers, JLL and Mizuho Trust & Banking.
The portfolio consists of 82 apartment blocks, the bulk of the assets located in Japan’s two largest cities, Tokyo and Osaka.
In a flyer sent to selected parties, the advisors said the offering provided investors with a “highly desirable opportunity” to acquire a multifamily residential portfolio of scale in one of the world’s top investment destinations.
The flyer said there were asset enhancement opportunities and positive rental reversion for future lease expirations.
The portfolio generates approximately ¥4.9bn (€40.8m) in net operating incomes annually.
Industry sources told IPE Real Assets that the Blackstone portfolio would attract strong interest from investors keen to enter the world’s third-largest multifamily market.
But new entrants seeking to establish in the market would either have to purchase a portfolio large enough to establish a footprint or spend a lot of time aggregating assets to achieve critical mass.
Blackstone in 2015 purchased what was known as Japan Residential Investment in a deal worth about US$450m, according to media reports at the time.
Sources said the US investors had obviously grown the portfolio and upgraded the assets while under their ownership. It was Blackstone’s second multifamily deal in Japan.
The year before that, Blackstone bought a portfolio from GE for more than ¥190bn.
