BREIT Fulfills Repurchase Requests, Waiving Withdrawal Limits for Third Time

Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. – a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust sponsored by private equity giant The Blackstone Group – issued a letter to stockholders revealing it will meet investors’ redemption requests in full for June 2024. This is despite the withdrawals exceeding the fund’s own monthly or quarterly redemption limits for the third time in four months.

In June, BREIT received $806 million in redemption requests under the share repurchase plan, near the lowest level in two years. According to the company, it also represents an 85% decline from the January 2023 peak, as well as a 50% decline from last month when Starwood REIT announced it was amending its share repurchase program.

Given the unique circumstances driving the May spike, according to the letter, BREIT’s majority independent board of directors approved exceeding the 5% net asset value quarterly limit to fulfill 100% of June repurchase requests.

BREIT had previously fulfilled 100% of repurchase requests for February, March, April, and May 2024. Fulfilling repurchase requests in June is equivalent to about 1.4% of NAV.

Since inception more than seven years ago, BREIT reported that it has delivered a 10.3% annualized net return, more than two-times publicly traded REITs, according to the company, and has significantly outperformed the broader private real estate universe over the same period.

There has been positive momentum in 2024, with five consecutive months of positive performance and Class I shares returning +2.3% so far this year.

Finally, BREIT reminded stockholders of its focus: high-growth sectors and markets experiencing secular growth tailwinds, such as approximately 85% rental housing, industrial, and data centers; and approximately 70% in the Sunbelt markets. In addition, BREIT noted its balance sheet has close to 90% fixed-rate debt for the next five years. It has several avenues for growth, including a large and growing data center development pipeline driven by demand for AI and the cloud, as well as its warehouse portfolio.

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