Blackstone Group, the world’s largest private- equity firm, agreed to buy 180 warehouse properties from ProLogis for $1 billion, said a person with knowledge of the transaction.
The person asked not to be named because the deal isn’t yet public. Krista Shepard, a spokeswoman for Denver-based ProLogis, declined to comment in a voice-mail message. Heather Lucania, a spokeswoman for Blackstone in New York, declined to comment.
Blackstone has been acquiring property assets after values fell and vacancies rose amid the worst economic slump since the Great Depression. It’s investing $500 million in General Growth Properties as part of the mall owner’s bankruptcy exit.
The firm also agreed in August to buy an 80 percent stake in a warehouse venture between ProLogis and funds run by Eaton Vance Corp. for $617 million including debt, people said at the time.
“It could signal that Blackstone is somewhat optimistic on the fundamentals,” Craig Guttenplan, an analyst at New York-based CreditSights Inc., said in a phone interview. “We haven’t seen too much proof that the industrial market is meaningfully improving.”
ProLogis, the world’s biggest warehouse owner, is selling assets to reduce debt, Guttenplan said. Its stock jumped 4.7 percent Thursday.
The Blackstone deal was reported earlier Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.
