Blackstone has begun to raise capital for its first pan-European core-plus real estate fund.
The US private equity firm, which declined to comment, is fundraising for the open-ended Blackstone Property Partners Europe, according to industry sources and a potential investor.
The revelation comes three years after Blackstone launched its first open-ended, core-plus fund in the US.
The new fund will pursue a similar strategy in Europe to that of its US counterpart Blackstone Property Partners, according to sources.
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, which typically commits between $25m (€21.4bn) and $100m to real estate funds, is considering an investment.
Blackstone will be making a presentation to the board of the pension fund this week, according to Illinois Municipal. Anthony Myers, head of real estate in Europe at Blackstone, and US-based managing director Alexandria Hill will be present.
Blackstone is at an early stage of fundraising, according to industry sources, and there is no indication how big the fund will be or what markets in Europe it will target.
Blackstone’s US open-ended fund has a current value of $14.1bn, according to the company’s 2017 second-quarter earnings report.
The investments for the fund have produced a 12% net internal rate of return.
In addition to Blackstone’s new European fund, Illinois Municipal said it is considering an investment in the Torchlight Debt Opportunity Fund VI, a real estate debt fund targeting net returns of 13% to 15%.
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