Blackstone in $1bn logistics deal

The Blackstone Group is reportedly closing in on a deal to buy 180 properties from US warehouse giant ProLogis.

The portfolio spans more than 20 million square feet in a number of US markets, according to the Wall Street Journal.

ProLogis has been on a radical restructuring and debt reduction programme since the credit crunch put a huge dent in its international growth aspirations.

The newspaper quoted Steven Frankel, who covers industrial real-estate companies for research firm Green Street Advisors: “My guess is (Blackstone) has seen that industrial values have not appreciated since the trough as much as other sectors have.”

This would be the second significant industrial property deal by Blackstone in recent times having reportedly agreed to buy an 80 percent stake in a joint venture of 17 million square feet of US warehouse space for $105 million, plus the assumption of $512 million of debt, from another unnamed private-equity fund, said the Wall Street Journal.