Blackstone has agreed to acquire GIC’s 49% stake in the Dexus Australian Logistics Trust for about $2.1 billion.
The DALT portfolio has exposure to 77 assets with a circa 90% exposure to the strong performing Sydney and Melbourne markets.
The portfolio is weighted to traditional logistics facilities, which are leveraged to the growth of e-commerce.
Blackstone’s Core+ Real Estate strategy in Asia made an unsolicited proposal for the DALT stake, with the existing management arrangements for DALT remaining unchanged.
“We are pleased to have worked with GIC to grow this high-quality portfolio,” said Dexus CEO Darren Steinberg.
“This new relationship provides a stable long-term source of capital to invest alongside us. We welcome Blackstone onto our platform and look forward to continuing to drive the Partnership’s strong performance.”
The Dexus-managed DALT partnership was established in November 2018 and seeded with 55 core logistics properties and a development landbank from the Dexus industrial portfolio.
GIC acquired an initial 25% interest in the partnership and later acquired a further 24% interest in the portfolio.
Blackstone’s Core+ strategies focus on logistics, residential, office, life science office, and retail assets in global gateway cities.
There has been strong occupier appetite for industrial and logistics properties nationwide, with the industrial vacancy rate across Australia’s five major cities falling to a historic low of 1.3%.
The strong occupier demand has been a major driver for investors, which has fuelled numerous industrial deals across the country including Gateway Capital’s purchase of a Brisbane industrial site for $28 million last week.
Other industrial transactions include SC Capital Partners’ acquisition of an industrial asset on the Gold Coast for $23.2 million.
Last month, Dexus Industria REIT exchanged contracts to buy a warehouse in the Brisbane suburb of Narangba for $44.5 million, while Centuria Industrial REIT acquired a portfolio of four industrial properties across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for $129.4 million.
Other industrial deals around the country include EG’s acquisition of two industrial sites in the Melbourne suburbs of Blackburn and Blackburn North for $79 million, and LBP Developments’ sale of a prime industrial development site in Southwest Sydney to a private developer for $16.3 million.
