Blackstone Poised to Buy 7 Australian Office Towers-Source

   By Gillian Tan 
 

SYDNEY--The Blackstone Group (BX) is set to acquire seven Australian office buildings from the real estate arm of General Electric Co. (GE) for around 300 million Australian dollars (US$271 million), a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The sale of GE Capital Real Estate's assets--located in Australia's largest cities like Sydney and Melbourne--could be agreed later Wednesday, the person said.

The transaction comes two months after GE divested seven office buildings to Mirvac Group Ltd (MGR.AU) for A$584 million, following an ongoing review of assets non-core to its lending business. GE's Australian insurance unit is also on the block, and has attracted first-round bids from parties including Hong Kong-listed AIA Group Ltd. (1299.HK), The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.

It marks Blackstone's second Australian property investment in recent weeks, with the firm agreeing to buy an Australian mall from Lend Lease Group (LLC.AU) for A$360 million earlier this month.

Both transactions bolster the New York-listed firm's Australian property portfolio, which includes the Top Ryde City mall in Sydney, which it purchased from receivers in October for A$341 million and the 2011 acquisition of real-estate investment manager Valad Property Group for around A$800 million.

-Write to Gillian Tan at [e-mail]

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