NEW YORK CITY — BRE Retail Holdings Inc., an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI L.P., has closed its acquisition of the U.S. assets and platform of Centro Properties Group and its managed funds for approximately $9.0 billion. Blackstone announced its winning bid for the Centro portfolio on February 28, 2011.
Included in the sale are 585 community and neighborhood shopping centers and related retail assets totaling 92.1 million square feet. Centro’s retail properties are located in 39 U.S. states, and the portfolio includes 37 centers held through joint ventures. Centro’s property management platform, which includes 18 offices and approximately 600 employees, was also included in the deal.
Centro is the second largest owner of community and neighborhood shopping centers in the United States, and its properties are primarily grocery or name-brand discount chain anchored. The company is the largest landlord (by gross leasable area) to The TJX Companies, The Kroger Company, Ahold USA, Dollar Tree, Inc. and Staples, Inc.
Centro Property Group's Brentwood Plaza in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The company is the largest landlord to The Kroger Company, among other large retailers.
Centro plans to position itself to actively manage its portfolio, shifting from asset preservation to growth, expecting to direct additional financial resources toward re-engaging its redevelopment program.
“We are now capitalized to aggressively lease and reposition space and to support our retailers’ growth strategies. When combined with the scale and breadth of our portfolio, there are few landlords as well positioned to be long-term partners with our retailers,” said Michael Carroll, CEO of Centro Properties Group US.
Carroll, as well as the six additional members of the company’s management committee, will continue at the company.
“This transaction enables us to expand our retail real estate presence with a leading platform,” said A.J. Agarwal, senior managing director of The Blackstone Group. “Centro is well positioned today with an attractive portfolio comprised of strategically located assets in dense, infill markets with productive grocer anchors. We look forward to partnering with them to pursue the growth opportunity within this portfolio.”
Blackstone’s financial advisers on the deal were Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank Securities and Barclays Capital, and its legal advisers were Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, DLA Piper, and Gilbert + Tobin.
— Dan Marcec