Blackstone REIT to Buy Rental Home Firm in $6 Billion Deal
Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust, has agreed to purchase Home Partners of America.
Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, a publicly registered non-traded REIT sponsored by private equity giant The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), has agreed to purchase Home Partners of America, which owns approximately 17,000 single-family rental homes across the United States, in a deal valued at $6 billion.
Home Partners reportedly gives tenants the option of buying their rental home, and Blackstone said it intends to continue the program.
“The fundamental premise of the [Home Partners of America] platform is to provide residents with the opportunity to live in their chosen home with the option to purchase it—we intend to build on that goal and expand access to homes across the U.S.,” said. Jacob Werner, Blackstone Real Estate senior managing director.
According to the company, Blackstone REIT plans to help the Home Partners management team expand access to housing for lower income households, including by launching its Choice Lease program. Additionally, the REIT said that it is “committed to continuing and expanding the financial planning assistance program offered to all residents, free of charge.”
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.
Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust invests primarily in stabilized, income-generating U.S. commercial real estate, and to a lesser extent, in real estate debt investments. The REIT launched in August 2016 and has raised $26.6 billion in three public offerings as of April 2021. The REIT has raised $4.6 billion in the current offering, as of mid-June 2021.
