FAIRFIELD (dpa-AFX) - Private equity firm Blackstone Group L.P. (BX) said Friday that it has agreed to acquire diversified conglomerate General Electric Co.'s (GE) residential real estate business in Japan for more than 190 billion yen, or $1.61 billion.
Blackstone said that funds affiliated with Blackstone Real Estate Partners Asia will make an investment in connection with the deal to acquire GE Japan Corporation's 100 percent owned residential real estate business.
The business owns and operates more than 200 residential properties, consisting of over 10,000 units primarily in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.
Alan Miyasaki, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone said, 'We continue to believe strongly in the residential sector's fundamentals, especially in Japan's major cities. We are excited by the opportunity to invest in such a high-quality and well managed business.'
Francois Trausch, Chief Executive Officer of Asia-Pacific at GE Capital Real Estate said, 'This transaction supports our global strategy to reduce our equity book as we continue to build our global debt operations. We are pleased that our Japan residential business will transfer to another premier owner/operator with a strong emphasis on tenant satisfaction.'
GE Capital is increasing its focus on core areas aligned with the company's industrial domains including energy, aviation, oil & gas and healthcare, while reducing the overall size of GE Capital through the sale of non-strategic assets.
BX closed Thursday's trading at $32.86, up $0.19 or 0.58 percent on a volume of 3.86 million shares. GE closed Thursday's trading at $26.85, down $0.07 or 0.26 percent on a volume of 18.57 million shares.
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