Blackstone to pay US$18.7b for GLP's warehouses: WSJ

[SYDNEY] Blackstone Group LP has outbid Prologis Inc with a US$18.7 billion offer to buy a group of US industrial warehouses from Singapore's GLP in the largest private real estate transaction, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The purchase, which includes about 1,300 properties spanning 180 million square feet of space, would make Blackstone one of the largest owner of US logistics buildings, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with matter, who weren't identified. The transaction could be announced as early as Sunday, it added.

The amount includes about US$8 billion of debt, which Blackstone plans to refinance, the newspaper said. The sale came as GLP, which had wanted to take its US business public later this year, switched plans following buyout interest, it said.

Blackstone plans to split up the portfolio, putting about two-thirds into its opportunistic real estate strategy, with the rest in a private real estate investment trust, the Journal reported.

The surge in business for Amazon.com Inc, GLP's biggest tenant, has driven demand for warehouse space, the newspaper said.

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