Blackstone has carried out at least €2.7 bn of real estate transactions in Europe during the first three months of the year, according to deal data analysed by PropertyEU Research.
The US private equity giant was mainly active as a buyer, with six deals totalling €2.2 bn during the period. By far the largest involved the Onyx venture between Blackstone and M7 Real Estate purchasing €1.3 bn of light industrial assets in Germany and the Netherlands from UK REIT Hansteen in March. The sale covered 100 German assets, valued at €887 mln, and 71 assets in the Netherlands, valued at €308 mln.
Blackstone is the largest private equity real estate firm in the world with $102 bn (€95 bn) of assets under management. Its global network covers North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. M7, a pan-European investor and asset manager for multi-let real estate, will manage the assets being acquired from Hansteen on behalf of the joint venture.
In another deal in March, Blackstone expanded its light industrial holdings in the Netherlands further with the acquisition of 264,000 m2 of multi-let properties from HIG Capital. While HIG Capital declined to comment on the financial details, PropertyEU confirmed via the Dutch Land Registry database that the price was €130.5 mln.
The recovered office sector in the Netherlands has also been a Blackstone target. At the turn of 2016-17 the private equity firm acquired the Acanthus office building in the southeast district of Amsterdam for almost €124 mln, PropertyEU revealed. The vendor was Credit Suisse Asset Management.
Spain and France
In February Blackstone dealt with another bank: this time acquiring the Project Buffalo portfolio of 3,500 assets in Spain from Spanish bank BBVA. Local media outlets put the investment volume at about €300 mln and said the deal marked the sale of the largest real estate portfolio in BBVA's history.
Blackstone also indirectly backed the €111 mln acquisition of residential assets in Sweden during the first quarter. The deal relates to Swedish-listed D. Carnegie & Co - in which Blackstone owns the majority of shares - acquiring three residential portfolios, from listed peer Fastighets AB Balder, for €111 mln.
Also in February Blackstone added to its logistics holdings by buying a portfolio in France from European investment manager Rockspring for €233 mln. The newly acquired portfolio was owned by Rockspring TransEuropean Property 5 (TEP V) and comprises more than 300,000 m2 of logistics accommodation across seven assets.
Blackstone's latest deal in the logistics sector comes as the group mulls the future of Logicor, its €12 bn European logistics platform. One option being considered is an IPO, while various heavyweight investors are also believed to want to snap up the platform and its 13.6 million m2 under management. The Financial Times reported recently that Asian players lead the pack of potential buyers.
The shortlist, according to sources consulted by the Financial Times, include global Logistic Properties, the largest warehouse group in Asia; sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation, and a joint venture of Singaporean SWF Temasek and its subsidiary Mapletree.
A sale of Logicor, should it eventuate, would be the largest ever in the European logistics sector, dwarfing the €2.4 bn acquisition by GIC, Singapore's other SWF, of P3 Logistic Parks last year.
