DRA Bulks Up Industrial Holdings with $1B Deal

A property in Groveport, OH, near Columbus, among the industrial hubs represented in the newly acquired portfolio.

NEW YORK CITY—No stranger to the industrial sector, private equity real estate firm DRA Advisors has bulked up its holdings by acquiring a 184-property portfolio from Cabot Properties Inc. The $1.07-billion buy expands DRA’s industrial footprint by 19.8 million square feet, and completes the profitable disposition of assets held by Cabot’s Industrial Value Fund II, launched in 2005.

“We are enthusiastic about the investment potential of this portfolio and the ability to extend our national industrial footprint to over 45 million square feet,” says David Luski, president of New York City-based DRA. In 2012, the firm acquired about 21 million square feet in two separate portfolio deals: a $342-million acquisition from Weingarten Realty Partners and, at year’s end, a joint venture with Westcore Properties to buy 110 industrial assets from JB Properties for $600 million.