LOS ANGELES — Blackstone Real Estate has sold a portfolio of industrial properties in Southern California to Rexford Industrial Realty Inc. (NYSE: REXR) for a total of $1 billion. The portfolio comprises 48 properties and approximately 3 million square feet, for a sales price of $332 per square foot.
At the time of the sale, the portfolio was 98 percent leased. Almost all of the properties are located within infill submarkets in Los Angeles and Orange counties. A list of the properties was not released.
Rexford Industrial, headquartered in Los Angeles, financed the transaction using proceeds from its recent exchangeable senior note offerings and cash on hand.
According to Michael Frankel and Howard Schwimmer, co-CEOs of Rexford Industrial, the REIT’s current acquisition pipeline also includes $300 million of investments under contract or accepted offer.
“Infill Southern California is the nation’s highest-barrier and lowest supply industrial market,” said Frankel and Schwimmer via a press release. “These strategic investments in exceptionally well-located, high-quality assets represent a significant opportunity to drive accretive cash flow growth, increased operating margins and long-term value creation.”
Rexford is already a major industrial investor, with its entire 422-property, 49.1 million-square-foot portfolio located in Southern California. The company’s stock price closed at $50.30 per share on Thursday, March 28, down from $57.35 one year ago.
Blackstone Real Estate is the largest owner of commercial real estate globally, with $337 billion in investor capital under management.
— Channing Hamilton