BAAR, SWITZERLAND — Partners Group has sold an industrial portfolio on the East Coast in excess of $1 billion on behalf of its institutional clients. The 8.6 million-square-foot portfolio comprises 88 shallow-bay and bulk distribution centers located across five markets: Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta, Nashville, Norfolk and Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.
“We are proud to see the transformational results of the work we have done during the past three years and believe this exit represents an excellent outcome for our clients,” says Ron Lamontagne, managing director and co-head of private real estate for the Americas at Partners Group.
Partners Group originally purchased the portfolio across three separate investments with Equus Capital Partners, an investment management firm based in metro Philadelphia.
The buyer, an undisclosed life insurance company, is entering into two joint ventures with Equus Capital Partners to recapitalize the portfolio. The recapitalization will include one joint venture that holds assets within the portfolio with a long-term, income-focused return profile. The second joint venture will include assets suited to a shorter term, total return-driven strategy.
The shallow-bay portion of the portfolio totals 3.8 million square feet and comprises 54 buildings within six industrial parks in Raleigh-Durham, as well as 19 buildings in one park in Atlanta.
The bulk portfolio contains 14 buildings totaling 4.8 million square feet, including six buildings in the greater Norfolk area; four buildings in Nashville; and four buildings along the I-81 Corridor of Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.
The portfolio was 98 percent leased at the time of sale.
“The capital markets have been extremely receptive to stabilized industrial properties that are leased to creditworthy tenants in strategic and dynamic growth markets,” says Kyle Turner, principal and director of investments at Equus Capital Partners.
Turner led the transaction internally along with other members of Equus Capital Partners, including Christopher Locatell, Timothy Feron, Laura Brestelli and Phillip Vecchiolli. Mike Joseph, Doug Bond and Dan Cashdan of JLL represented Equus Capital Partners in the transaction.
Partners Group is a Swiss private equity firm that serves about 900 institutional investor clients globally. The company manages roughly US$109 billion in assets and employs more than 1,500 professionals across 20 offices worldwide. The firm’s real estate holdings total about $17 billion in assets under management.
Equus Capital Partners’ portfolio consists of office, multifamily, industrial and retail properties. The firm has regional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham and South Florida in addition to its headquarters in Newton Square, Pa.
— John Nelson