US private equity firm Lone Star is buying listed UK property developer Quintain.
The investment manager’s cash offer, through its Bailey Acquisitions vehicle, has been accepted by Quintain shareholders.
Lone Star’s Real Estate Fund IV will pay £700m ($1.09bn) for Quintain, which owns the land around London’s Wembley Stadium.
Fund IV, which closed in April this year with $5.8bn raised, will fund most of the deal, with debt from third-party lenders.
Angus Dodd, director at Lone Star Europe Acquisitions, which advises Fund IV, said the deal is a “unique opportunity” for Lone Star to gain further exposure to London’s residential and commercial real estate sectors.
Quintain’s Wembley Park scheme, he said, is “one of the largest and most exciting urban renewal projects in Europe”.
He said: ”We intend to contribute significant additional financial resources to help Quintain in its next phase of growth: to accelerate delivery at Wembley Park, building more homes more quickly and continuing the creation of a cohesive and exciting new community.”
Lone Star’s Fund IV has been backed by US pension funds, including Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund. IP Real Estate reported that Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois had also committed $300m to Lone Star Fund IV.
