NEW YORK CITY — Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. (BREIT) has entered into an agreement to acquire Toronto-based WPT Industrial REIT for a cash price of US$3.1 billion. That figure includes the assumption of the publicly traded Canadian REIT’s corporate debt.
Under the terms of the deal, shareholders of WPT Industrial will receive US$22 for each share of common stock they own. That figure represents a premium of 17 percent over the closing price of WPT Industrial’s stock on Friday, Aug. 6, the last day of trading prior to the merger announcement.
The price per share also marks a 19.5 percent premium over the Canadian REIT’s weighted average unit price for the 30-day period that ended on Aug. 6. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
“Logistics continues to benefit from strong tailwinds driven by e-commerce,” says David Levine, senior managing director at Blackstone. “We look forward to expanding our logistics presence across key U.S. markets with the acquisition of this high-quality portfolio that WPT has built.”
WPT Industrial owns, develops and manages warehouse and distribution facilities throughout the United States. The company’s U.S. footprint consists of 109 properties totaling approximately 37.5 million square feet of gross leasable space across 19 states. According to its website, WPT Industrial’s portfolio is 97.8 percent leased, and the company has about 4.7 million square feet of new projects in various stages of development.
A subsidiary of New York City-based asset management giant The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), BREIT invests primarily in stabilized, income-generating commercial real estate across multiple property types in the United States. Blackstone’s real estate business was founded in 1991 and has approximately $208 billion in assets under management.
In the last 12 months, Blackstone has also entered into an agreement to acquire Chicago-based single-family homebuilder Home Partners for $6 billion and to buy data center REIT QTS Realty Trust for $10 billion. In addition, the company agreed to acquire hotel chain Extended Stay America in a joint venture with Starwood Capital for $6 billion.
Morgan Stanley and Desjardins Capital Markets served as financial advisors to WPT Industrial, while Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and Vinson & Elkins LLP acted as the firm’s legal counsel. Eastdil Secured provided financial advisory services to BREIT, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Goodmans LLP represented BREIT on the legal front.
The stock price of WPT Industrial, which trades on the Toronto stock exchange, opened at $21.70 per share on Monday, Aug. 9, following the news of the acquisition. The stock price is up roughly 50 percent from a mark of $14.13 per share a year ago.
The stock price of Blackstone opened at $114.60 per share this morning, up more than 100 percent from $52.70 per share one year ago.
— Taylor Williams