Benzinga | Aug 20, 2021 08:48AM EDT

Landmark Properties and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Announce $784M Joint Venture To Recapitalize And Acquire 5,416 Bed Class A Student Housing Portfolio

Landmark Properties, a vertically integrated student housing developer and owner-operator, has entered into a joint-venture partnership with Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. ("BREIT") to recapitalize eight student housing assets totaling 5,416 beds across the U.S. With this transaction, Landmark's portfolio includes 79 student housing communities.

"We are very excited to form this partnership with Blackstone, one of the world's leading real estate private equity firms," said Landmark Properties President and CEO Wes Rogers. "We have a great relationship with the Blackstone team and are looking forward to completing additional transactions together.

"We have long believed that student housing in top markets offers a compelling investment opportunity, particularly when well located, developed with the type of high-quality amenities students expect and managed to an institutional standard. Blackstone's ongoing investments in this space further validate the strength of this sector."

Jacob Werner, Blackstone Real Estate Senior Managing Director, said, "We are thrilled to partner with Landmark, one of the top student housing developers in the U.S., to acquire this portfolio of well-located assets concentrated at leading U.S. universities with growing enrollments. Student housing has a history of being resilient while generating strong cash flows and this transaction is consistent with BREIT's strategy of acquiring high-quality, income generating properties that have attractive long-term growth potential. We look forward to growing our presence in this asset class and working together on future transactions."

TSB Capital Advisors acted as financial advisor to both Landmark Properties and BREIT.