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Eversheds Sutherland advises Blackstone on the cross-border sale of its Union State Portfolio of student accommodations

  • Germany

    24-04-2017

    The Blackstone Group, a US private equity investor, has sold its international student housing portfolio “Union State” to Liberty Living. The purchase price is €540 million. The portfolio sold includes 13 student residences with 6,484 apartments in Germany, Great Britain and Spain.

    Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. Blackstone’s asset management businesses, with over US$360 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. The firm’s real estate business was founded in 1991 and has approximately US$102 billion in investor capital under management.

    Liberty Living is one of the largest student accommodation providers in the Great Britain and is one of the longest-standing owners and operators in the sector. Established in 2000, Liberty Living has been acquired by Canadian Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) in 2015 as a vehicle for further expansion in this asset class. Including the Union State portfolio acquisition, Liberty Living will own and manage approximately 25,000 beds in 61 residences across 23 cities. With this acquisition, the British property manager enters the market in continental Europe and continues its expansion.

    Blackstone has been advised by an interdisciplinary team from Eversheds Sutherland’s offices in Germany, Great Britain and Spain with London real estate partner Gurjit Atwal overall leading. The German Eversheds Sutherland Team headed by Thomas Ziegler (Partner, Real Estate) was comprised of the following lawyers: Dominik Sailer, Jennifer Hock (both Real Estate), Dr Stefan Diemer (Partner), Jörg Käßner (Counsel, both Tax), Dr Alexander Niethammer (Partner, IT/IP), Nils Müller (IT), Nadine Friese (IP), Dr Manuela Rauch (Principal Associate), Dr Laura Bürgel (both Employment, all Munich).

    Thomas Ziegler, LL.M., Partner

    This information is for guidance purposes only and should not be regarded as a substitute for taking legal advice. Please refer to the full terms and conditions on our website.

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