BOSTON — Cabot Properties Inc. has sold its Value Fund V portfolio in two separate transactions for a total of $2.8 billion. Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. (BREIT) acquired the portfolio, which features logistics properties in the United States and Europe.
The U.S. portfolio includes 102 properties totaling 15.2 million square feet located in major logistics markets such as the Inland Empire, California; Eastern Pennsylvania; South Florida; and the New York metropolitan area.
In a separate transaction, Blackstone’s European Core Plus business and its affiliates acquired the remaining European properties, which feature 22 properties totaling 2.2 million square feet of industrial space. The properties are located in European markets such as the Midlands, North West and South East in the United Kingdom; Amsterdam; and Düsseldorf in Germany.
“The sale of our Value Fund V portfolio completes our most ambitious logistics property investment program over the past 20 years,” says Franz Colloredo-Mansfeld, chairman and chief executive officer of Cabot. “This portfolio was created through 90 transactions, including 24 development projects throughout the U.S., U.K. and Europe completed over the past five years. We are pleased to have now completed approximately $5 billion in three transactions with Blackstone Real Estate over the past four years.”
In 2016, Cabot launched the Value Fund V, as part of Cabot’s flagship fund series, which focused on creating industrial portfolios that generate strong cash flow and result in long-term value creation. The Value Fund V is made up of single and smaller transactions, including ground-up developments, with a focus on critical last-mile locations. The portfolio is leased to mix of tenants, including undisclosed well-known e-commerce companies.
David Levine, senior managing director at Blackstone Real Estate, says the logistics sector has continued to be impacted positively by e-commerce demand, as there is now more demand for logistics properties.
“These high-quality, stabilized assets are perfectly suited for our core plus vehicles given their strong locations, stable cash flows and long-term growth potential,” says Levine.
BofA Securities, CBRE and Eastdil Secured served as exclusive advisors to Cabot. Goodwin Procter served as legal counsel to Cabot. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel to Blackstone.
Cabot Properties is a Boston-based investor, developer and operator of logistics properties throughout the United States, Europe and Australia. In August of this year, Cabot and developer Endurance Real Estate Group broke ground on Olyphant Logistics Center, a 1 million-square-foot industrial property in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. Construction on the project is slated for fall 2022.
Blackstone Real Estate is a New York-based real estate investment company that owns and operates logistics, multifamily, office, hospitality and retail properties. In September 2021, the affiliates of the firm agreed to purchase a hotel portfolio from Condor Hospitality Trust for $305 million. The portfolio included 15 properties in eight states.
— Julia Sanders