AXA Investment Managers-Real Assets has expanded its presence in US real estate with the purchase of logistics portfollio for US$875m (€704m).
The 7.98m sqft portfolio has been acquired through a share purchase of a real estate investment trust (REIT) previously managed by Cabot Properties.
Cabot will retain a minority stake in the REIT and continue to act as day-to-day manager.
The portfolio comprises 27 assets in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Central New Jersey, Dallas, South Florida, Southern New Jersey and Atlanta.
It is approximately 98% leased to 36 tenants, with an average unexpired lease term of approximately 4.8 years.
The transaction expands AXA IM-Real Assets’ global logistics portfolio to about 41m sqft in 10 countries with a total value of about US$3.5bn.
Steve McCarthy, head of North America at AXA IM-Real Assets, said: “This acquisition allows us to add significant scale to our US logistics platform in a single transaction that gives us exposure to eight of the 10 largest logistics markets in America.
“It is in line with our broader strategy of investing in real estate asset classes that are supported by long-term structural drivers, with logistics having been one of our long-term conviction calls for a number of years.
“The demand for modern logistics space has proven robust against the backdrop of the global pandemic which has accelerated the adoption of existing technology led trends including most notably the growth in e-commerce.”
