US investment giant Blackstone generated $3.4 bn (€3.1 bn) of sales in Q2, according to its latest earnings publication released on Thursday.
The figure stems from private asset sales in the Equity Office Property and Trizec office portfolios, two secondary equity offerings of the Brixmor public stake and the sale of a 66% interest in Tysan Holdings, a Hong Kong publicly listed real estate company.
Globally, Blackstone invested $1.6 bn in the quarter, including the US retail portfolio of RioCan, a Canadian public REIT.
The global real estate division registered a 2.2% increase in the opportunistic funds’ carrying value, reflecting gains in private investment values, but this was partially offset by lower valuations for its London office holdings. The carrying value of its core-plus funds was up 2.1% during the quarter.
In the same period, the company raised $4.1 bn across its real estate platform, including $1.4 bn for its fifth European opportunistic fund, $1.2 bn for its third mezzanine debt fund and $1.0 bn for US core-plus funds.
Blackstone saw its total real estate assets under management (AUM) rise 13% year-on-year to $103.2 bn, with fee-earning AUM up 6% over the same period to $66.7 bn, driven by growth in its core-plus funds.
The total AUM of its core-plus funds rose by more than 100% to $12.9 bn y-o-y.
Across the entire group, Blackstone's total AUM reached a record $356 bn as of June 30, while net income edged up 2% compared to the same period in 2015.
