The Blackstone Group and London-property investor M7 Real Estate have acquired a €1.28 billion portfolio of Dutch and German logistics assets from Hansteen Holdings, the London-listed real estate investment firm.
The price reflects a premium of about 6 percent, or €76 million, to the valuation of the assets at the end of last year, and the deal is expected to be completed before the end of June.
Neither party officially disclosed what type of real estate assets are contained within the portfolios, but PERE understands they contain light logistics assets located throughout Germany and the Netherlands.
For their parts, Blackstone and M7 were yet to comment on the deal, although it is understood Blackstone used capital from its Blackstone Real Estate Partners (BREP) Europe V vehicle which, as of this month, had attracted $7.1 billion of equity from investors.
As of 9.30am this morning, Hansteen’s share price had risen by more than 7 percent and was trading at 125.2p on the London Stock Exchange, its highest price since 2007.
A spokesman for Hansteen said the firm disposed of the portfolios because the assets contained within them were at “historically high levels of occupancy and rent”. Hansteen also cited the favorable Euro-Sterling exchange rate as a further reason for the sale.
“This is a compelling opportunity to crystallize both the revaluation gains from these German and Dutch assets achieved by our active asset management and the gains from foreign exchange movements,” said Morgan Jones, joint chief executive of Hansteen. “The value being realised is around 30 percent higher than the book value at December 31, 2015 when measured in sterling.”
“The sale is in line with our long-term business and portfolio strategy of buying at a low point in the cycle, with low occupancy and rents, adding value through improved asset management and subsequently realising the investment at a higher point in the cycle,” added Jones.
Hansteen was represented by JLL and Jones Day.
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