Blackstone has opened a new front in the private capital industry’s quest to supplant the stock market, taking aim at publicly listed real estate investment trusts that have fallen out of favour with investors as inflation and recession fears weigh on public market valuations.
The private equity group’s acquisition of listed student housing operator American Campus Communities for $13bn earlier this week was the biggest in a string of such takeovers. It followed last year’s $6bn acquisition of Extended Stay America, a lodging chain geared towards out-of-town workers and others who spend long spells away from home.
“Right now people are nervous about rising interest rates,” said Jonathan Litt, chief investment officer of Land & Buildings, an activist fund focused on real estate investments, explaining why some public real estate investment trusts or Reits are trading at steep discounts.