Blackstone has agreed to acquire Colony Industrial, the industrial real estate assets and operating platform of Colony Capital, for an aggregate purchase price of $5.9 billion, continuing its expansion into e-commerce logistics. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
The Colony Industrial last-mile light industrial portfolio comprises approximately 60 million square feet of infill logistics assets across 465 light industrial buildings in 26 U.S. markets, with significant concentration in Dallas, Atlanta, Florida, northern New Jersey and California. The transaction also includes Colony’s 51% ownership interest in a four million-square-foot portfolio of bulk distribution assets and the affiliated operating platform which manages the properties of both portfolios.
“This acquisition of high quality warehouses demonstrates our continued strong conviction in logistics and positive e-commerce trends,” said Nadeem Meghji, head of real estate, Americas at Blackstone. “As retailers continue to shorten delivery times and expand their last mile footprints, we believe warehouses in dense population centers will continue to experience outsized demand growth.”
Each of the agreements is subject to customary closing conditions, including third party consent for the sale of the 51% interest in the bulk industrial portfolio.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher served as legal counsel, Morgan Stanley and Eastdil Secured served as financial advisors and CBRE National Partners served as real estate advisor to Colony Capital. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as legal counsel to Blackstone.
