UK-listed industrial property company Hansteen has agreed to be acquired by private equity giant Blackstone for £500m (€588m).
If the deal is approved by shareholders, Blackstone will add Hansteen’s £451m platform to its recently launched European last-mile logistics company, Mileway.
Blackstone has offered £116.5 per share, representing a 10% premium to Hansteen’s closing price on Tuesday and valuing the company at $500m.
James Seppala, head of Blackstone Real Estate Europe, said: “This transaction is a compelling opportunity to expand our pan-European last-mile logistics real estate company Mileway in the UK, and it is testament to our long-term belief in investing in the country.”
The deal, which will be voted on by shareholders in early February, comes more than two years after Blackstone and M7 Real Estate acquired €1.28bn of industrial assets in Germany and the Netherlands from Hansteen.
In a joint statement, joint CEOs of Hansteen, Ian Watson and Morgan Jones, said: “Over the last few years we have been crystallising much of the value created, returning substantial capital and making high returns for shareholders.
“The offer from Blackstone is a continuation and conclusion of that strategy and we believe provides a highly satisfactory outcome for our shareholders and employees. We have given irrevocable undertakings to vote in favour of Blackstone’s offer in relation to our own shareholdings.”
Hansteen was founded and launched on AIM submarket of the London Stock Exchange in 2005 by Jones and Watson.
The UK real estate investment trust seeks to make high-yielding and managament-intensive investments in urban multi-let industrial property.
