Private equity investor Blackstone has announced securing an A$1.45 billion ($930 million) sustainability-linked loan, its first sustainability-linked financing in Asia Pacific and the largest of its kind in Australia’s industrial sector so far.
The loan, which was coursed through funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate, the PE firm’s real estate business, further boosts Blackstone’s efforts to build a high-quality, energy-efficient logistics portfolio around the world, according to the announcement.
The loan also comes about six months after Blackstone raised $30.4 billion for its latest global real estate fund—Blackstone Real Estate Partners X. The fund focuses on logistics, rental housing, hospitality, lab office, and data centres.
In April, the PE firm also disclosed securing $8.2 billion in capital commitments for the third vehicle in its Asian opportunistic real estate fund series Blackstone Real Estate Partners Asia III.
For the sustainability-linked loan, Blackstone said MUFG Bank acted as the sole coordinator and joined Morgan Stanley, National Australia Bank, and United Overseas Bank as mandated lead arrangers, underwriters, and bookrunners.
“We’re thrilled to secure our first third-party verified SLL in the region, which we believe will improve the performance of our assets, the overall experience for our occupiers, and drive long-term value for our investors,” said Eric Duchon, global head of ESG at Blackstone Real Estate.
In Australia, Blackstone has built a portfolio of more than 140 logistics assets and executed some of the country’s largest transactions in the sector, Chris Tynan, head of Real Estate Australia at Blackstone, said.
Globally, Blackstone is one of the largest owners of logistics, with a portfolio spanning 1.1 billion square feet across major geographies, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Greater China, Japan, and Australia.
Its real estate unit also operates one of the leading global real estate debt businesses, providing comprehensive financing solutions across the capital structure and risk spectrum, including the management of Blackstone Mortgage Trust.
Blackstone recently appointed its current head of China private equity, Ed Huang, as its head of Asia private wealth. Previously a managing director for China investments at Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia, Huang joined Blackstone in 2012 and is the COO of Asia private equity, head of BCP Asia acquisitions, and leads Greater China and Korea for Blackstone’s private equity group.
Reuters also earlier reported that the PE firm has held preliminary discussions with Walt Disney to acquire a stake in the Indian arm of the entertainment firm.