CONSHOHOCKEN, PA. — EQT Exeter has sold a portfolio of 328 industrial properties for $6.8 billion on behalf of its private real estate funds, EQT Exeter Industrial Value Fund IV and related investment vehicles.
The properties span 70.5 million square feet across the state of New York; Dallas; Atlanta; Chicago; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tenn.; Indianapolis; Columbus, Ohio; and Louisville, Ky. The portfolio consists primarily of logistics properties serving major corporations, including facilities for big box regional distribution, e-commerce fulfillment and last-mile distribution.
EQT Exeter — which was formed earlier this year when Swedish private equity firm EQT AB acquired Exeter Property Group for $1.9 billion — assembled the portfolio through a mix of development and acquisitions.
The company developed 15 million square feet of the portfolio, with 7 million square feet still under construction, and acquired the balance through 100 transactions over the course of the past three years. The portfolio was 95 percent occupied at the time of sale.
The buyer — an undisclosed group led by an Asian sovereign-wealth fund, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal — was procured by Eastdil Secured. EQT Exeter will continue to operate and manage the properties as part of the transaction.
“We are excited to continue collaborating with the buyers, our partners in a new venture as we operate the assets moving forward,” says Ward Fitzgerald, partner and head of EQT Exeter. “Today’s transaction is the fourth multi-billion-dollar portfolio sale by our company.”
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP advised EQT Exeter in the disposition. Headquartered in the Philadelphia suburb of Conshohocken, the company is focused on acquiring, developing and managing logistics, industrial, office, life sciences and residential properties across Europe, the Americas and Asia.
—Katie Sloan