DALLAS—Blackstone Group LP agreed to purchase 9.6 million square feet of General Electric's industrial real estate holdings for an undisclosed price. Blackstone's industrial real estate company, IndCor Properties Inc, will manage the properties of which roughly half are located in Texas.

Blackstone was attracted to the high quality portfolio due to the 14 straight quarters of positive absorption in the industrial markets, specifically the high growth Texas markets, noted a source familiar with the transaction. The majority of the Texas properties are located in Dallas and Austin.

The Texas industrial market benefits from a centralized location setting the Metroplex apart as a logistics and distribution hub. Healthy industrial activity in Houston is due largely in part to the Port of Houston, which is the busiest seaport in the nation in terms of foreign tonnage and the second busiest in United States for overall shipping tonnage says the Port of Houston Authority.

Blackstone created IndCor in 2010 with a focus on key logistics markets across the nation. IndCor currently owns approximately 80 industrial properties in Texas, with the majority in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area due to the thriving logistics market.