Blackstone Sells Shopping Centers for $512M
Blackstone is selling its majority interest in 39 US shopping centers to JV partner Kimco for $512M, almost doubling its equity investment in the portfolio, Bloomberg reported. The deal includes $427M in mortgage debt and is valued at $925M.
With Blackstone’s two-thirds interest in hand, Kimco has full ownership of the portfolio, which totals 5.6M SF. The shopping centers are sited in affluent neighborhoods throughout New York, Virginia, Texas, Florida and California, and enjoy a 97% occupancy rate overall, Kimco said. The Hyde Park, NY-based REIT has been buying up JV interests this year to simplify its business. It's already scooped up 33 other properties from former partners, spending almost $700M, the REIT reported.