Blackstone Affiliate Buys Multifamily Landlord Bluerock for $3.6B
By Mark Hallum December 20, 2021 2:04 pm
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Blackstone (BX) Real Estate will acquire multifamily landlord Bluerock Residential Growth REIT in a $3.6 billion deal, the firms announced Monday.
Built into the acquisition are 30 multifamily properties comprising about 11,000 units and a loan book secured by 24 multifamily assets, which, according to Bluerock, are high-quality garden-style homes with green space and resort-style amenities all built around the year 2000.
These properties located in Atlanta, Phoenix, Orlando, Denver and Austin were bought by affiliates of Blackstone as part of the $24.25 per shareall-cash acquisition of New York-based Bluerock, according to Bluerock. The portfolio will be managed under a new real estate investment trust named Bluerock Homes Trust, or BHOM.
“We believe the substantial premium to our historic trading price is a testament to our success in building a best-in-class institutional-quality multifamily apartment portfolio in our attractive knowledge-economy target markets, along with the robust process run by the board of directors and management to secure maximum value for our shareholders,” Ramin Kamfar, Bluerock’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
With the transaction expected to be finalized by the second quarter of 2022, BHOM will own interest in about 3,400 homes, including 2,000 through mezzanine investments, Bluerock said.
With approval from the board already granted, Bluerock shareholders will receive shares of BHOM with an implied net asset value estimated at $5.60 per share. The acquisition, however, is still contingent on a vote of approval from the Bluerock’s shareholders, which will be held at a later date.
“Bluerock’s portfolio consists of high-quality multifamily properties in markets across the U.S. experiencing some of the strongest fundamentals,” Asim Hamid, senior managing director at Blackstone, said in a statement.
The acquisition is the latest giant deal from Manhattan-based Blackstone, which has powered through the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly buying anything that wasn’t nailed down and becoming the largest private landlord in the country.
Morgan Stanley (MS) & Co. and Eastdil Secured were Bluerock’s lead financial advisors with BofA Securities also serving as an advisor.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
