Blackstone and Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (Nasdaq: ROIC) have announced a definitive agreement for Blackstone Real Estate Partners X to acquire all outstanding common shares of ROIC at $17.50 per share. This all-cash transaction is valued at around $4 billion, including outstanding debt. ROIC’s portfolio includes 93 high-quality, grocery-anchored retail properties covering 10.5 million square feet across major West Coast cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland. The purchase price offers a 34% premium over ROIC’s closing price on July 29, 2024, the day before reports surfaced about a potential sale.
“We are pleased to reach this agreement with Blackstone, as it provides significant, certain value to our stakeholders,” said Stuart A. Tanz, ROIC’s President and CEO. “This transaction represents the culmination of our team’s dedication over the past 15 years, and we are confident that Blackstone will drive ROIC’s portfolio to new heights.”
Jacob Werner, Co-Head of Americas Acquisitions at Blackstone Real Estate, commented, “This acquisition reflects our confidence in necessity-based, grocery-anchored shopping centers in densely populated areas. With nearly a decade of limited new development, demand remains strong for brick-and-mortar grocery stores, restaurants, and lifestyle retailers. ROIC’s portfolio aligns with our strategy, and we look forward to expanding its success.”
The transaction, approved by ROIC’s Board of Directors, is expected to close in Q1 2025, pending customary closing conditions and stockholder approval.
J.P. Morgan acted as ROIC’s exclusive financial advisor, with Clifford Chance US LLP as its legal counsel. Blackstone’s financial advisors included BofA Securities, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Newmark, and Eastdil Secured, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as legal counsel.
About Retail Opportunity Investments Corp.
Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (NASDAQ: ROIC), is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the acquisition, ownership and management of grocery-anchored shopping centers located in densely-populated, metropolitan markets across the West Coast. As of September 30, 2024, ROIC owned 93 shopping centers encompassing approximately 10.5 million square feet. ROIC is the largest publicly-traded, grocery-anchored shopping center REIT focused exclusively on the West Coast. ROIC is a member of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index and has investment-grade corporate debt ratings from Moody’s Investor Services, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, Inc. Additional information is available at: www.roireit.net.
About Blackstone Real Estate
Blackstone is a global leader in real estate investing. Blackstone’s real estate business was founded in 1991 and has US $325 billion of investor capital under management. Blackstone is the largest owner of commercial real estate globally, owning and operating assets across every major geography and sector, including logistics, data centers, residential, office and hospitality. Our opportunistic funds seek to acquire undermanaged, well-located assets across the world. Blackstone’s Core+ business invests in substantially stabilized real estate assets globally, through both institutional strategies and strategies tailored for income-focused individual investors including Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (BREIT). Blackstone Real Estate also operates one of the leading global real estate debt businesses, providing comprehensive financing solutions across the capital structure and risk spectrum, including management of Blackstone Mortgage Trust
