Blackstone's Portugal bet pays off as malls become hot property

Lisbon

EVEN as many property investors were shunning Portugal during its bailout years, the Blackstone Group was buying.

The New York-based private equity firm began shopping for malls in 2013 and that bet is now paying off: it agreed last month to sell three shopping centres around Lisbon to Groupe Auchan.

It's currently completing the sale of a fourth mall to Spain's Merlin Properties Socimi for as much as 450 million euros (S$733.3 million), about twice the amount it paid, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

"Some funds that bought shopping centres during the crisis at a discount are now selling these assets to other foreign funds…