Blackstone has invested A$925m (€581m) in Australia to buy a 50% share in the Grosvenor Place office tower in Sydney.
A source close to Blackstone confirmed to IPE Real Assets that the US investment firm had acquired the stake from Dexus (37.5%) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (12.5%).
Dexus said it would use part of its proceeds (A$694m) from the sale to repay debt.
The 50% stake in Grosvenor Place initially came to market in 2020, and in November that year, Dexus announced that China Investment Corporation (CIC) had conditionally agreed to the stake.
When the deal did not settle, reports began to surface in October 2021 that CIC, which is China’s sovereign wealth fund, was walking away from the deal.
CIC already owns a 25% stake in Grosvenor Place through an office fund, managed by Mirvac, which it inherited from its acquisition of the Investa Office portfolio in 2015.
The remaining 25% in Grosvenor Place is owned by an Australian super fund, Commonwealth Super Corporation.
Industry sources said Blackstone could be planning to acquire CIC’s 25% stake, reaffirming the US firm’s commitment to the Australian real estate market.
Blackstone recently acquired the Fort Knox storage logistics portfolio for an undisclosed amount. Again in Australia, Blackstone is also bidding to take over Crown Resorts casino group for A$8.5bn.
Blackstone recently sold its Milestone Logistics portfolio in Australia for more than A$3.8bn to ESR, in what was Australia’s largest logistics transaction.
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