US investor Blackstone to acquire Japan-focused Croesus Retail Trust for £507m

Private equity giant Blackstone Group LLP has signed a deal to acquire Singapore-listed Croesus Retail Trust (CRT) for S$900.6m (£507m).

The transaction, part of trend of buyouts of real estate investment trusts (REITs), will see affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate pay S$1.17 per unit in cash.

Though Singapore listed, CRT is focused on Japan and has an established network of retail assets in the country.

Overall, the trust manages a portfolio worth about £840m.

It is backed by Japanese real estate conglomerate Daiwa House Industry Co Ltd and trading company Marubeni Corp.

According to Reuters, the head of real estate in Asia at Blackstone Group, Christopher Heady, said: “This transaction represents a good opportunity for Blackstone’s real estate business to further expand its platform in Japan.”

Blackstone, one of the world’s biggest institutional real estate investors, managed around £79.6bn of equity for real estate investments as of December 31 last year.

The firm will now acquire CRT through a ‘trust scheme’ and the trust will be delisted.

Financial adviser to Croesus Retail Asset Management, the trustee manager, is Citigroup Global Markets Singapore Pte Ltd.

Blackstone Group’s financial adviser is DBS Bank.

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