Tritax Big Box (BBOXT.L), opens new tab said on Monday it has agreed to acquire Blackstone’s (BX.N), opens new tab UK logistics assets for 1.04 billion pounds ($1.39 billion), with the U.S. private equity firm taking a 9% stake in the London-listed real estate investment trust.
The two companies were recently locked in a bidding war over Warehouse REIT , another UK-based real estate investment trust.
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Over the past two years, the UK’s real estate investment trust (REIT) sector has seen significant consolidation. Warehouse landlords and investment firms are capitalizing on the rising demand for rapid delivery by increasing occupancy and securing higher rents for logistics spaces in UK cities.
The acquistion will help Tritax expand its urban and small-box logistics offerings in the UK’s South East and the Midlands.
Under the deal, Blackstone will acquire an about 9% stake in Tritax, becoming its second-largest shareholder, according to data compiled by LSEG, just behind Phoenix Life Limited.
