Blackstone takes majority stake in €900m of Finnish logistics

US Blackstone Group has acquired a majority stake in Certeum, a company that owns and manages €900 mln of logistics and industrial real estate in Finland.

It is believed Blackstone paid about €290 mln for about 58% of Certeum, although full financial details of the two-stage transaction were not disclosed.

Advisory firm Advium said the deal was one of the largest property transactions in Finland and the second largest logistics transaction in the Nordics during 2015.

Advium acted for Helsinki-listed real estate company Sponda, which sold its 38% stake in Certeum to Tungsten Investment, a company affiliated to the Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe IV fund. The consideration of €190 mln will generate a profit of about €7 mln for Sponda, which earlier announced its intention to refocus its business on office and retail property in Finland.

Simultaneously, Finnish pension insurance company Varma Mutual sold half of its 39% shareholding in Certeum to Tungsten. The price was not disclosed but the Sponda sale indicates it was probably around €100 mln. Varma retains a 19.5% stake in the logistics company.

Varma co-founded Certeum together with Sponda, Sponda's Funds 1, 2 and 3 and Finland's State Pension Fund in 2014. Certeum specialises in owning, leasing and developing logistics and industrial properties, mainly in the largest cities in Finland. The company's portfolio of 122 assets covering 1.3 million m2 was valued at €896 mln at end-June 2015.

Blackstone manages the logistics assets acquired by its funds in Europe through its Logicor platform.

The largest logistics deal in the Nordics this year involved Nordic Real Estate Partners selling 28 assets located in key distribution hubs across Sweden, Finland and Denmark to four Danish pension funds for €650 mln. That deal took place in May.