Blackstone Increases Volume of Spanish RE Acquired During the Crisis to €20bn

6 April 2018 – Voz Pópuli

With €20 billion, all of Bankia’s pending aid could be returned and the extra pension increase announced by Cristóbal Montoro last week could be applied. That figure is how much Blackstone has committed to the Spanish real estate sector during the crisis.

That €20 billion includes the most recent major investment announced by the US fund, one of the largest in the world, in Hispania. Blackstone has acquired a 16.5% stake in the Spanish real estate company, worth €315 million, and has launched a takeover bid for the whole company, worth €1,900 million.

Even if that operation does not prove successful, Blackstone has already placed €18 billion on the table in real estate acquisitions in Spain in recent years. That figure, which includes debt, represents 7% of the €300 billion that the fund manages in the real estate sector around the world.

At the European level, Spain is one of the fund’s favourite destinations, together with Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.

It is already managing Quasar

Of that €18 billion, the bulk corresponds to the recent acquisition of Popular’s property, which is worth €10 billion. Blackstone controls 51% of the new company that owns the €30 billion in real estate assets inherited from the bank that was sold to Santander.

Another recent operation was Blackstone’s purchase of Sabadell’s hotel subsidiary, HI Partners, for €630 million.

An acquisition in 2014 also stands out involving Catalunya Banc’s problem mortgages, for which it paid €3.6 billion. Moreover, Blackstone has been purchasing assets from CaixaBank, BBVA and Sareb, amongst others, in recent years, and has also made investments in logistics centres through Logicor.

Original story: Voz Pópuli (by Jorge Zuloaga)

Translation: Carmel Drake