Industrials REIT agrees to Blackstone’s £511m takeover offer

Listed specialist UK multi-let industrial business Industrials REIT has agreed to a £511m (€578m) takeover offer from Blackstone.

Earlier this month Blackstone made a final possible cash offer of 168p per ordinary share to Industrials REIT shareholders and was expected to announce a firm intention to make an offer by 14 April 2023.

The offer represented a 42.4% premium to Industrials REIT’s last closing price on the London Stock Exchange.

Industrials REIT, which is also listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, said at the time that it intended to recommend the offer to its shareholders, should Blackstone make the firm offer on the same terms.

Industrials REIT owns and operates a portfolio of UK urban multi-let industrial estates representing a 7.12m sqft portfolio of 104 assets.

In the latest update, Industrials REIT and Sussex Bidco, a newly-formed limited partnership indirectly owned by investment funds advised by affiliates of Blackstone, said they have agreed the terms of the cash acquisition. 

Richard Grant, chair of Industrials REIT, said following careful consideration and “reflecting on the uncertain macro-economic backdrop, we believe this offer is in the best interests of Industrials shareholders providing them with cash certainty at an attractive premium to the pre-offer share price and significantly accelerating the value that could be realised by Industrials if it were to remain listed”.

James Seppala, head of Blackstone Real Estate Europe, said: “As one of the largest investors in logistics real estate globally and in the UK, we have been preparing for this cycle for a long time and have assembled a high-quality portfolio and positioned it for growth.

“We have the track record, capital and scale to enable Industrials to capitalise on the opportunities ahead.”

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