Blackstone to Acquire 16 Office Buildings: Report

Blackstone Group(BX) is close to acquiring a distressed portfolio of 16 office buildings from a Morgan Stanley(MS) real estate fund, according to a published media report.

The deal, which values the distressed portfolio of buildings at about $800 million, underscores Blackstone's aggressive push to acquire commercial real estate, according to the report, which was published on The Wall Street Journal's Web site.The Morgan Stanley fund acquired the buildings when it purchased Glenborough Realty Trust in 2006, the report said.Although the fund has sold off many of the Glenborough properties, it decided to transfer the 16 remaining buildings to Blackstone instead of repaying roughly $820 million in loans due in December, the report added, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.Blackstone holds $225 million of junior debt on the buildings, and it will assume the remaining debt of about $600 million, the report said.Blackstone is now talking to lenders regarding financing for the acquisition, according to the report. Shares of Blackstone closed Friday up 2 cents at $13.33. >To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints