Blackstone to Take ROIC Private in $4B All-Cash Deal 

Blackstone, through its Blackstone Real Estate Partners X fund, has agreed to buy Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (ROIC) for approximately $4 billion, including debt, in an all-cash deal. 

Blackstone will pay $17.50 per share, a 34% premium to ROIC’s closing share price on July 29, 2024, the last trading day prior to news reports of a potential sale.

ROIC’s portfolio consists of 93 high-quality, grocery-anchored retail properties totaling 10.5 million square feet in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco and Portland. 

“This transaction reflects our strong conviction in necessity-based, grocery anchored shopping centers in densely populated geographies,” said Jacob Werner, co-head of Americas acquisitions at Blackstone Real Estate. “The sector is experiencing accelerating fundamentals, benefiting from nearly a decade of virtually no new construction, while demand for brick-and-mortar grocery stores, restaurants, fitness and other lifestyle retailers remains healthy.” 

San Diego-based ROIC is the largest publicly traded, grocery-anchored shopping center REIT focused exclusively on the West Coast. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. 

In June, Blackstone Real Estate announced its largest-ever apartment portfolio deal with the acquisition of Apartment Income REIT Corp. (AIR Communities) in an all-cash transaction valued at $10 billion. 

J.P. Morgan acted as ROIC’s exclusive financial advisor. Clifford Chance US LLP served as ROIC’s legal counsel. BofA Securities, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Newmark, and Eastdil Secured acted as Blackstone’s financial advisors. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as Blackstone’s legal counsel.