EQT Real Estate Seals $550M Balance Sheet Financing for Logistics Portfolio 

The holiday season may be off to the races, but for some, there’s no slowing down quite yet. 

EQT Real Estate just sealed a $550 million balance sheet financing for a 15-asset industrial portfolio spread across multiple states, Commercial Observer can first report. 

BMO led the financing package with a $200 million participation, and BBVA and Société Générale also participated.

Eastdil Secured negotiated the financing for the portfolio, which was assembled through multiple acquisitions before being structured as a single collateral pool. 

“We are very pleased to have completed this financing,” said Brian Ford, head of debt capital markets at EQT Real Estate. “This transaction underscores the strength of the underlying assets and the confidence our banking partners have in our platform. We appreciate the collaboration and continued support from BMO, BBVA and SocGen, and we look forward to building on these strong relationships as we continue to expand our portfolio.”

The investment manager, formed in 2021 when EQT acquired Exeter Property Group, has around approximately $310 billion in assets under management today, with roughly 2,000 properties across 400 million square feet. The recent transaction expands the firm’s logistics footprint by 8 million square feet and also highlights its ability to deploy capital during ongoing market bumps while other investors are pulling back. 

While the property addresses couldn’t be divulged, the recently acquired assets are described as being 90 percent leased with a weighted average lease term of 4.9 years and located in “high-growth, supply-constrained logistics markets,” including South Florida; Jacksonville, Fla.; Dallas-Fort Worth; Columbus, Ohio; and Indianapolis, Ind.. 

The debt package was structured as a five-year, interest-only balance sheet loan with the three banks — a welcome change from commercial mortgage-backed securities financings and nonbanks dominating headlines — and exemplifies growing interest in large real estate financings from banks as well as expanding lending mandates.  

“This financing demonstrates the depth of bank balance sheet capital available for logistics portfolios of scale in today’s market,” Justin Kundrak, director at Eastdil Secured, said. “We are proud to have partnered with EQT Real Estate in delivering a tailored capital solution to facilitate these acquisitions. Increased lender demand, heightened competition, and growing risk-on sentiment continues to drive a very constructive environment for large-scale logistics financings.” 

Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com.