Founded in 1991 by the Bank of Finland during that country's banking crisis, Sponda owns, leases and develop retail and office properties across Finland's largest cities. The fair value of Sponda's investment properties is approximately €3.8 billion (US$4.28 billion) and the leasable area of its portfolio is about 12.9 million square feet.

Separately, Blackstone announced on Monday that it had made an equity investment in Ascenty, reportedly the leading provider of data center & telecom services in Brazil. The Ascenty stake was not disclosed.

HELSINKI—The board of Finnish real estate investment firm Sponda Plc has unanimously approved a takeover offer by the Blackstone Group. Blackstone's bid would pay €5.19 per Sponda share in a deal valued at €1.76 billion, or approximately US$2 billion, a 20.2% premium on Sponda's closing price this past Friday.

“Our proposed acquisition represents another step in Blackstone's longstanding strategy of investing in high-quality real estate assets and businesses across the Nordic region,” says James Seppälä, head of European real estate acquisitions at Blackstone. “We are excited about this opportunity to invest in the commercial real estate market in Finland and are delighted with the strong support that our offer has received from Sponda's board, management and leading shareholders.” Swedish real estate fund manager Areim AB will be a co-investor with Blackstone; the size of Areim's stake in the Sponda bid was not disclosed.

At Sponda, president and CEO Kari Inkinen says, “With the support of Blackstone we will further develop our business, our properties and our portfolio. We will continue to offer high-quality business premises and working environments to our customers.”

The Blackstone-led group has named Goldman Sachs International and Nordea Bank AB as financial advisers, and White & Case LLP as legal adviser in connection with the Sponda deal. Sponda has appointed UBS Ltd. as financial adviser and Castrén & Snellman Attorneys Ltd. as legal adviser in connection with the transaction.

Founded in 1991 by the Bank of Finland during that country's banking crisis, Sponda owns, leases and develop retail and office properties across Finland's largest cities. The fair value of Sponda's investment properties is approximately €3.8 billion (US$4.28 billion) and the leasable area of its portfolio is about 12.9 million square feet.

Separately, Blackstone announced on Monday that it had made an equity investment in Ascenty, reportedly the leading provider of data center & telecom services in Brazil. The Ascenty stake was not disclosed.