Blackstone spends $2.1b for stake in logistics portfolio
Blackstone, via its Core+ Real Estate strategy in Asia, will pay $2.1 billion for a 49 per cent stake in the Dexus Australian Logistics Trust.
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC is the vendor.
The portfolio will be held with Dexus, which is also the manager.
First mooted in October, the deal is speculated to reflect a blended four per cent yield.
“We are pleased to have worked with GIC to grow this high quality portfolio, Dexus chief executive officer Darren Steinberg said today.
“We welcome Blackstone onto our platform and look forward to continuing to drive the [DALT’s] strong performance,” he added.
Swings & roundabouts
Blackstone’s investment in DALT comes eight months since the US group offloaded a $3.8b portfolio of industrial assets, known as the Milestone portfolio, to ESR, at a return in the low four pc range.
Coincidentally GIC holds an 80pc stake in that partnership.
Also in April, Blackstone sold its 90pc interest in the Fife warehouse portfolio for $850m to PGIM and Manulife.
That deal reflected a c4.5pc yield.
Blackstone spends again
Core+ focuses on distribution centres, offices, life science commercial, residential and retail product in gateway cities.
Its DALT acquisition includes a stake in 77 logistics assets, 90pc of which are in Sydney and Melbourne.
The entity was formed in 2018 with 55 assets and sites sourced from Dexus’ industrial portfolio (story continues below).
Initially, GIC acquired a 25pc share however, following external acquisitions and the build out of the development pipeline – this increased to 49pc.
The deal is the largest yet in Asia for the Core+ strategy, which has also purchased Singapore’s Eclipse office and a portfolio of residential assets in Japan’s Osaka and Tokyo.
“We are pleased to both acquire a portfolio of best-in-class logistics assets in Australia and partner with Dexus,” Blackstone global head of Core+ Real Estate, Frank Cohen, said.
“This transaction significantly increased Asian Core+ Real Estate exposure to the logistics space and is consistent with our strategy of overweighting high conviction sectors and locations,” according to the executive.
Blackstone head of Real Estate, Australia, Chris Tynan, added it has been active in Australia’s premium grade logistics sector since 2016.
“While online sales continue to soar, Australia’s e-commerce penetration rate continues to be low relative to that of other major logistics hubs around the world,” he said.
“We believe there’s tremendous opportunity for growth, supported by Australia’s strong e-commerce demand”.
This includes a forecast for rent rises.
Elsewhere in Australia, Blackstone earlier this month acquired a 50pc interest in Sydney’s Grosvenor Place office; coincidentally the balance of that asset is held by Dexus and its Office Partners fund.
The group also outlaid $400m for Fort Knox Self Storage which includes the business as well as a portfolio of properties in Melbourne.
JLL’s Tony Iuliano and Adrian Rowse sold the DALT share for GIC.
Blackstone was advised by Clayton Utz.
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