Blackstone Raises £1.7B For Lower-Risk Property Fund And Is Going Big On Logistics Again
Blackstone only started raising money for its first European core-plus property fund in August, but it has already raised £1.7B ($2.4B) for the vehicle.
The U.S. investment giant held a first close for Blackstone Property Partners Europe in the fourth quarter, according to the company’s results. U.S. pension fund CalPERS alone invested $750M in the fund, according to IPE Real Assets.
The fund will buy lower-risk and lower-return assets than Blackstone’s flagship opportunity funds.
The purchases the vehicle has made so far highlight that Blackstone is still a massive believer in the logistics sector.
The fund has bought a pan-European portfolio of 24 logistics assets from Goodman, which has a reported price of €600M (£532M). It is also reported to have bought back a 10% stake in Logicor, the pan-European logistics business it sold to China Investment Corp. for €12B last year. The firm’s results said CIC had mandated it to manage a 50% stake in Logicor.
A €230M European logistics joint venture with Delin Capital Asset Management in April last year was also flagged as a core-plus investment.
Blackstone’s results said it has $27B in core-plus assets under management. Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman said it thinks that part of its business could grow to $100B.
Hear from Blackstone head of Europe James Seppala at Bisnow's London Capital Markets Update on 22 February at 7.30am at Merchant Taylors' Hall.
