GIC Pte, the Singapore sovereign-wealth fund, is the buyer of Blackstone Group LP (BX)’s stake in
London’s Broadgate office complex, according to two people with
knowledge of the transaction.
GIC is buying 50 percent of Broadgate, a cluster of 16
office buildings, shops and restaurants on 30 acres (12
hectares) in London’s main financial district, according to the
people, who asked not to be named because the deal is private.
Bloomberg News reported on Aug. 20 that Blackstone agreed to
sell the stake for more than 1.7 billion pounds ($2.7 billion).
The purchase is the latest trophy acquisition for GIC,
formerly known as Government of Singapore Investment Corp. The
fund last year invested in 101 California St., an office tower
in San Francisco’s financial district, and in March acquired the
Grand Wailea in Maui and four other resorts from a group
including Paulson Co. for $1.5 billion.
“The Broadgate stake makes sense for GIC as a long-term
strategic investment,” Song Seng Wun, an economist at CIMB
Research in Singapore, said. “Trophy assets in London, Europe’s
financial capital, are always attractive targets for
institutional investors.”
Mah Lay Choon, a spokeswoman for GIC, declined to comment
on the transaction. PropertyWeek.com reported yesterday that the
fund was the buyer. Andrew Dowler, a London-based spokesman for
Blackstone with RLM Finsbury, declined to comment.
Property Investments
GIC had 10 percent of its assets in real estate globally as
of March 31, unchanged from the previous year, according to its
latest annual report published this month. The fund is ranked
the eighth-biggest by the Las Vegas, Nevada-based Sovereign
Wealth Institute, which estimates its assets at $248 billion.
Property topped the list of state funds’ investments last
year, overtaking commodities and financial services, the London-based Institutional Investor’s Sovereign Wealth Center said in
May. Real estate made up 26 percent of investments, up from 14
percent in 2011, the center said.
The sale of the Broadgate interest would “certainly be
among the biggest office deals” in Europe, according to Dan Fasulo, managing director of Real Capital Analytics Inc., a New
York-based property-research firm.
Blackstone, based in New York, bought the stake from
British Land Co. (BLND) in a 2009 deal that valued the complex at 2.1
billion pounds. The private-equity firm put money into
improvements and agreed to hold its interest for at least three
years. British Land retains the other half of Broadgate.
Gordon Simpson, a spokesman for British Land at RLM
Finsbury, declined to comment on the sale.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Hui-yong Yu in Seattle at
hyu@bloomberg.net;
Klaus Wille in Singapore at
kwille@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Kara Wetzel at
kwetzel@bloomberg.net
Singapore’s GIC Said to Be Buyer of Blackstone’s Broadgate Stake
Scott Eells/Bloomberg
The purchase is the latest trophy acquisition for GIC, formerly known as Government of Singapore Investment Corp.
The purchase is the latest trophy acquisition for GIC, formerly known as Government of Singapore Investment Corp. Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg
Singapore’s GIC Said to Be Buyer of Blackstone’s Broadgate Stake
Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg
GIC Pte had 10 percent of its assets in real estate globally as of March 31, unchanged from the previous year, according to its latest annual report published this month.
GIC Pte had 10 percent of its assets in real estate globally as of March 31, unchanged from the previous year, according to its latest annual report published this month. Photographer: Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg
Singapore"s GIC Said to Buy Blackstone"s Broadgate Stake
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