Blackstone has struck a $13bn (£10bn) deal for one of the biggest student housing portfolios in the US.
The purchase of American Campus Communities is the latest in a string of real estate transactions that has already made the private equity company one of the largest residential landlords.
ACC owns more than 100 halls of residence and housing units.
Blackstone executive Jacob Werner said there was a development opportunity, as capital from its $279bn real estate unit could be used to build new university facilities in areas that were not adequately served.
The deal underscores how Blackstone, one of the biggest real estate investors in the US, is seizing on pandemic-related disruptions to make large-scale investments in US housing, a strategy the firm pioneered during the last financial crisis, when it set up a new venture called Invitation Homes.
That venture involved dispatching executives to foreclosure auctions to make piecemeal acquisitions of recently vacated homes. But Blackstone’s recent deals have largely focused instead on buying ready-made portfolios from other real estate developers.
Last July, Blackstone acquired a $5.1bn portfolio of apartments that have received government subsidies geared towards low-income families, in a transaction that prompted unease among non-profit groups that provide affordable housing.
The same month, Blackstone spent $6bn to buy Home Partners of America, which operates a rent-to-buy scheme for suburban houses, and promises a path to home ownership for families with low credit ratings.
ACC’s sale to Blackstone comes after months of pressure exerted on the housing company’s board by Land & Buildings Investment Management, a real estate-focused activist fund led by former Citigroup analyst Jonathan Litt.
Just last week, Litt wrote to the board stating that there was “significant untapped potential in ACC’s assets”, adding that he had been “seriously concerned that the board… were not sufficiently focused” on creating shareholder value.
Blackstone is paying $65.47 a share for ACC, a 14% premium to the price at Monday’s close.
