Private equity giant Blackstone has inked a €1.8 bn deal with Stockholm-listed office specialist Castellum for a 214-asset Swedish last mile logistics portfolio.
After closing, the properties will be incorporated into Mileway, Blackstone's pan-European logistics platform, growing it to over €14 bn in assets.
According to Blackstone, the portfolio is well-located with 85% of the value in Greater Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, Sweden’s three largest cities. The balance is concentrated in other key Swedish logistics hubs.
Emmanuel Van der Stichele, CEO, Mileway, said: 'We are delighted to acquire this high-quality portfolio which will strengthen our exposure to Sweden’s largest and fastest growing markets and allow us to better support customer connectivity.
'We are long-term believers in the fundamental strength of the Swedish economy, and this is a natural progression as we continue to grow our last mile logistics portfolio across the region.'
The deal more than doubles the size of Mileway’s portfolio in Sweden, which currently totals around 1 million m2 across 74 assets. In October, the platform acquired 21 last mile logistics properties in the Malmö region from Wihlborgs Fastigheter. Mileway has local offices in Stockholm and Malmö.
Castellum is currently in the throes of a €2.9 bn takeover bid for Nordic peer Entra, and the sale - secured at a 20% premium to book value and an exit yield of 4.7% - enables the firm to improve its share exchange and cash offer to Entra's shareholders.
The new offer, launched on 18 December, is 13.9% higher, representing eight newly issued Castellum shares for every 13 shares in Entra and NOK 54.39 (€5.07) in cash per Entra share, equivalent to NOK 185.00 per Entra share. The acceptance period for the revised offer is expected to commence on 8 January.
