ATLANTA, HIGH POINT, NC and LAS VEGAS—International Market Centers, which Blackstone acquired last year, and AmericasMart — both operators in the furniture, gift, home décor, rug and apparel B2B industries — have agreed to combine to create what they say will be the world's largest owner and operator of showroom space. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The combined entity, which will be called International Market Centers, will own and operate nearly 20 million square feet of permanent showroom space in Las Vegas, High Point and Atlanta. The individual markets and their respective venues will continue to operate under existing names and branding.
The creation of architect-developer John Portman, AmericasMart houses home decor, gift, area rug and apparel merchandise in a downtown Atlanta complex that is over 7.1 million square feet. AmericasMart hosts 17 annual markets and shows.
The 14-block Peachtree Center complex is an important symbol to the city of Atlanta, as many credit Portman's project as one of the catalysts that established Atlanta as one of the nation's premiere convention cities.
Robert Maricich, the CEO of IMC, will become CEO of the combined entity.
Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities acquired IMC last together with Fireside Investments. IMC has 12.2 million square feet of exhibition space that serves over 4,000 exhibitors and lines. IMC has recently committed significant capital to expand both of its existing campuses — in Las Vegas, through the construction of a new, connected 350,000-square foot convention and exposition center and in High Point, through the acquisition/construction of two buildings and the renovation of common areas throughout the campus.
The transaction is expected to close in third quarter of 2018.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Erika Morphy
Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.
