Blackstone bets on e-commerce with $26b GLP logistics deal

Private equity giant will double size of US industrial footprint

New York-based Blackstone says its acquisition of US logistics assets from Singapore-based GLP is the world's biggest private equity real estate deal.
New York-based Blackstone says its acquisition of US logistics assets from Singapore-based GLP is the world's biggest private equity real estate deal. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

SYDNEY • Blackstone Group is making a huge bet on the future of e-commerce, agreeing to buy US$18.7 billion (S$25.6 billion) worth of US logistics assets from Singapore-based GLP in what it says is the world's biggest private equity real estate deal.

The deal gives Blackstone 179 million sq ft of urban logistics assets, almost doubling the size of its US industrial footprint, the New York-based private equity giant said in a statement late on Sunday.

Blackstone triumphed in an auction that drew bids from Prologis and Brookfield Asset Management, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Prologis spokesman Melissa Sachs declined to comment. A representative for Brookfield did not respond to a request for comment.

"Logistics is our highest conviction global investment theme today, and we look forward to building on our existing portfolio to meet the growing e-commerce demand," Mr Ken Caplan, global co-head of Blackstone Real Estate, said in the statement.

The GLP portfolio includes about 1,300 properties, and counts Amazon as its biggest tenant, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier.

Blackstone Real Estate's global opportunistic BREP strategy will acquire 115 million sq ft for US$13.4 billion, and its income-oriented unlisted Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust will acquire 64 million sq ft for US$5.3 billion.

The deal is Blackstone's third-biggest ever acquisition, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.

GLP was advised by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Eastdil Secured.

Blackstone's advisers were Bank of America, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.

GLP was delisted from the Singapore Exchange in January last year after a record US$16 billion buyout by Nesta Investment Holdings, a Chinese private equity consortium backed by senior executives from GLP.

BLOOMBERG

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 04, 2019, with the headline Blackstone bets on e-commerce with $26b GLP logistics deal. Subscribe