Blackstone Real Estate Partners X fund has agreed to acquire Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (ROIC) in an all-cash deal worth approximately $4 billion, including debt.
Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone will pay $17.50 per share for ROIC, representing a 34% premium over its closing share price on July 29th, 2024.
ROIC’s portfolio consists of 93 high-quality retail properties totaling 10.5 million square feet in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco and Portland. According to Jacob Werner, co-head of Americas acquisitions at Blackstone Real Estate: “This transaction reflects our strong belief in necessity-based shopping centers anchored by grocery stores in densely populated areas.” He also noted that these types of properties have been performing well due to limited new construction and continued demand for brick-and-mortar retailers.
Based in San Diego and focused exclusively on the West Coast market, ROIC is currently the largest publicly traded REIT specializing in grocery-anchored shopping centers. The acquisition is expected to be finalized during Q1 of 2025.
This announcement follows Blackstone’s recent purchase of Apartment Income REIT Corp., valued at $10 billion – their largest-ever apartment portfolio deal – which was also an all-cash transaction.
J.P Morgan acted as exclusive financial advisor for ROIC while Clifford Chance US LLP served as legal counsel. On behalf of Blackstone , BofA Securities , Morgan Stanley & Co LLC , Newmark , and Eastdil Secured provided financial advice with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as legal counsel.
