Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII, a Blackstone Group LP fund, entered into an agreement with Equity One, Inc. to purchase 36 shopping centers comprising approximately 3.9 million square feet for $473.1 million according to a Boston Globe article. The assets in the portfolio were encumbered by mortgage loans having an aggregate principal balance of approximately $177.4 million as of June 30, 2011 Equity One said in a statement. Lazard Freres & Co. LLC acted as Equity One's financial advisor in the transaction while Eastdil Secured acted as Blackstone's financial advisor.
"We are very pleased to enter into this transaction with Blackstone," said Jeff Olson, Chief Executive Officer at Equity One. "Together with our $600 million purchase of Capital & Counties and other recent acquisitions, this sale significantly advances our strategic plan to concentrate our portfolio in the urban retail markets of New York, Miami, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles."
The shopping centers are predominately located in the Atlanta, Tampa and Orlando markets, with additional properties located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and Maryland. A Businessweek article notes that retail centers with supermarkets are attracting investors because of the perceived safety of properties that consumers have to visit for necessities even in a slow-growing economy. Sales of U.S. grocery-anchored retail properties in the first half of this year exceeded the total for all of 2010, according to research company Real Capital Analytics Inc.
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