Blackstone in bid to acquire shopping center owner Retail Opportunity, sources say

Retail Opportunity Investments

30/07/2024 17:56

(Adds more details, background on ROIC from paragraph 4; Adds
ROIC shares jump 20%)
    By Anirban Sen
       July 30 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Blackstone
 BX.N  is in early-stage talks to acquire Retail Opportunity
Investments Corp (ROIC)  ROIC.O , which owns U.S. shopping
centers and has a market value of close to $2 billion, according
to people familiar with the matter.
    Blackstone's interest comes after ROIC's shares lost more
than 10% of their value in the last 12 months, underperforming
some other real estate investment trusts (REITs). The buyout
firm's approach indicates it sees values in ROIC's properties,
which mainly house supermarkets and drugstores.
    No deal is certain and another bidder for ROIC could emerge,
the sources said, requesting anonymity because the matter is
confidential. 
    Blackstone declined to comment. ROIC did not immediately
respond to requests for comment.
    ROIC's shares jumped as much as 20% on the news in early
afternoon trading on Wednesday. 
    Owners of strip malls, pharmacy chains, and retail stores
have managed to pass on some of the recent bout of inflation to
consumers, benefiting landlords like ROIC. The company has been
raising rents, achieving a 12.4% increase in same-space new
leases during the second quarter.
    Limited new construction of retail real estate has also
contributed to the scramble for high-quality space. Vacancies at
U.S. shopping centers stood at 5.3% for the second quarter ended
June 30, the lowest level since Cushman & Wakefield started
tracking the data in 2007. 
    Based in San Diego, California, ROIC owned 95 shopping
centers spanning about 10.7 million square feet (994,000 square
meters) as of the end of June. Last week, it reported net income
of $18.4 million for the first six months of 2024, up from $18.1
million in the corresponding period a year ago. 
    Dealmaking in the REIT sector is picking up. Earlier this
year, Blackstone signed a deal to acquire Apartment Income REIT
for $10 billion. 

 (Reporting by Anirban Sen in New York; Editing by David Holmes
and Conor Humphries)
 ((Anirban.Sen@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @asenjourno; Reuters
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