Blackstone Group’s real estate division is taking another massive bet, this time on property linked to the U.S. biotechnology sector.
The private equity firm will snap up BioMed Realty Trust in a stock transaction worth a staggering $8 billion.
Blackstone will pay $23.75 a share for the San Diego-based REIT, a 24 percent premium on its pre-deal share price.
BioMed controls a portfolio of 115 medical office and laboratory buildings, primarily concentrated around Boston, San Francisco, San Diego and Seattle, according to Real Capital Analytics.
“We believe in the long-term fundamentals of this sector, particularly in locations with top-tier educational and research institutions,” said Nadeem Meghji, Blackstone’s co-head of US real estate acquisitions, in a statement.
Blackstone has been on a buying tear as of late. Last month, it picked up Strategic Hotels and Resorts‘s 18-property portfolio for $6 billion. And in August, the firm partnered with RXR Realty to buy the Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue in Midtown for $1.2 billion.
The Real Deal recently profiled the company, questioning whether its remarkable real estate success would continue. – Ariel Stulberg