Private-equity firm Blackstone Group's real-estate arm looks set sell office buildings in Seattle and Washington, D.C., to Beacon Capital Partners for about $6.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The assets are the bounty of a recent takeover contest for Equity Office Properties Trust. Blackstone agreed to buy Equity Office for $23 billion in cash Wednesday. Blackstone assured investors it would sell major assets acquired in the takeover in order to reduce the risks associated with the deal.
If successful, the transaction would come immediately after Blackstone's $7 billion sale of New York office buildings to Macklowe Properties.
Blackstone’s quick sale of takeover assets illustrates the flexibility of private-equity firms and their potential for generating high premiums. The news comes in the same week as Fortress Investment Group raised $634 million in its initial public offering, making it the first private-equity firm to go public.