MADRID—Confirming earlier reports, the Blackstone Group and Banco Popular S.A. have reached an agreement on the sale of a majority stake in Popular's real estate portfolio to Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe V. The deal entails the creation of a company in which Blackstone will hold a 51% stake and to which Popular will transfer assets with a gross book value of approximately €30 billion (US$35.3 billion), as well as 100% of the share capital of Popular's real estate management company, Aliseda.
The Financial Times reported that the deal makes Blackstone one of the largest investors in Spanish real estate at a time when the country is seeing some of the strongest economic growth in Europe. It coincides with European Union antitrust regulators signing off on Banco Santander's acquisition of Popular, which EU regulators recently declared was “failing or likely to fail.”
Not including Aliseda, the loans have been valued at €10 billion, a deep discount to their book value. The deal takes the assets off of Popular's books. Blackstone is assuming management responsibilities along with holding a majority stake.
Rodrigo Echenique, chairman of Santander Spain, says the partnership with Blackstone “significantly reduces our real estate exposures and further strengthens our balance sheet, allowing us to focus all our efforts on supporting customers. It is an important step in the integration process and demonstrates the quality of our execution capabilities. The interest generated in this transaction among international investors is also a clear sign of confidence in the Spanish economy and we are grateful to all bidders who participated.”
At Blackstone, Jon Gray, the asset management giant's global head of real estate, says, “This significant investment reflects our continued confidence in the robust recovery of the Spanish economy. We are delighted to partner with Santander to maximize the long-term value of the portfolio.”
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018, pending regulatory approvals. The process has been supervised by Pedro Pablo Villasante, an independent director with Popular. Morgan Stanley advised the seller.
MADRID—Confirming earlier reports, the Blackstone Group and
The Financial Times reported that the deal makes Blackstone one of the largest investors in Spanish real estate at a time when the country is seeing some of the strongest economic growth in Europe. It coincides with European Union antitrust regulators signing off on Banco Santander's acquisition of Popular, which EU regulators recently declared was “failing or likely to fail.”
Not including Aliseda, the loans have been valued at €10 billion, a deep discount to their book value. The deal takes the assets off of Popular's books. Blackstone is assuming management responsibilities along with holding a majority stake.
Rodrigo Echenique, chairman of Santander Spain, says the partnership with Blackstone “significantly reduces our real estate exposures and further strengthens our balance sheet, allowing us to focus all our efforts on supporting customers. It is an important step in the integration process and demonstrates the quality of our execution capabilities. The interest generated in this transaction among international investors is also a clear sign of confidence in the Spanish economy and we are grateful to all bidders who participated.”
At Blackstone, Jon Gray, the asset management giant's global head of real estate, says, “This significant investment reflects our continued confidence in the robust recovery of the Spanish economy. We are delighted to partner with Santander to maximize the long-term value of the portfolio.”
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018, pending regulatory approvals. The process has been supervised by Pedro Pablo Villasante, an independent director with Popular.
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Paul Bubny
Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.
