Blackstone poised to sell real estate portfolio; Schwartzman says firm will “crush it”

One of the largest players in U.S. real estate is prepping to sell its office portfolio, the Wall Street Journal reported. The private-equity firm Blackstone Group’s move to sell its $22 billion worth of office assets may signal the market’s recovery.

The exit could come as early as next year, sources said. Executives are considering selling the real estate as regional portfolios, or listing it as a real estate investment trust. Blackstone’s office properties span 50 million square feet in more than 100 buildings, the Journal said.

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The company is very bullish on its success in the forthcoming transactions. “When we exit the real estate, my expectation is that we will really crush it and we will really do extremely well,” Blackstone head Stephen Schwarzman said on a call with analysts earlier this year, according to the Journal. [WSJ]