NEW YORK CITY-The European debt crisis isn’t slowing down the industry’s biggest and strongest real estate investment trusts. Panelists agreed during NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate’s 17th Annual REIT Symposium that the troubles in the euro zone could actually provide opportunities for distressed asset investment—and many REITs are already taking advantage.

The poster child of that trend, panelists said, is Simon Property Group’s $2 billion majority stake buy in Klepierre, a company that owns 271 centers in 13 European countries. In addition, the retail REIT also bought out its partner Farallon Capital Management, acquiring all of the 26 high-profile Mills assets the two purchased in 2007 for $1.8 billion.

Matthew J. Lustig, vice chairman of US investment banking at Lazard Real Estate Partners LLC, said during the “REITs vs. Private Equity” panel that the transaction was “very emblematic” of the flows taking place in the marketplace. “Europe is weak and it is much harder to get traditional debt financing, so you are seeing some of the best and brightest here focus overseas,” he said.