Ventas, New Senior ink $2.3B deal; Blackstone to pay $3.89B for Las Vegas assets

S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of real estate news stories published throughout the week.

Following its underperformance in 2020, the real estate investment trust sector continued its outperformance in the second quarter of 2021, with the RMS growing 12.0% compared to the S&P 500's 8.6% growth, Stifel analysts wrote in a July 1 note.

The analysts attributed the better second-quarter performance mainly to the continued rally in certain recovery and reopening sectors that underperformed in 2020, such as malls, shopping centers and multifamily, while sectors with continued strengthening in fundamentals, like self-storage and industrial, also witnessed gains.

According to the analysts, 19 S&P 500 REITs outperformed the S&P 500 in the second quarter, with Extra Space Storage Inc., Public Storage and Equinix Inc. among the top performers.

Year-to-date, the REIT group is up 21.8% as compared to the S&P 500's 15.3% gain.

"We are not surprised by the YTD outperformance, due to the underperformance last year, interest rates remaining low, and strong or recovering fundamentals across most REIT sectors," the analysts noted, adding that the sector has been backed by the solid M&A/privatization trend "that has swept the group."

The analysts identified lodging, timber and healthcare among the worst-performing REIT groups.

Blockbuster deal

* Ventas Inc. agreed to acquire fellow healthcare REIT New Senior Investment Group for about $2.3 billion in an all-stock deal expected to close in the the second half. The transaction includes New Senior debt worth $1.5 billion.

Dealing in big blocks

* The Blackstone Group Inc.-managed funds will purchase the real estate assets of Aria Resort & Casino and Vdara Hotel and Spa in Las Vegas from MGM Resorts International for $3.89 billion in cash.

* Separately, Blackstone tapped Eastdil Secured to sell The Charles Schwab Corp.'s former San Francisco headquarters for an asking price of about $400 million, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

* Shopping center landlord RPT Realty is considering a possible bid for embattled regional mall REIT Washington Prime Group Inc.'s assets, Bloomberg Law reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.

* Brixmor Property Group Inc. and Starwood Capital Group are evaluating potential bids to acquire BentallGreenOak's U.S. grocery-anchored shopping center portfolio, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The portfolio includes 10 shopping centers and could sell for up to $450 million.

* Multifamily property developer Zom Living is looking to sell the newly constructed 438-unit Solitair apartment project in Miami's Brickell Financial District and the 456-unit Las Olas Walk project in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for at least $460 million, the Commercial Observer reported.

* Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc. formed a $1.5 billion joint venture with an undisclosed global investor to acquire and manage core-plus multifamily communities in the Western U.S.

* GTIS Partners LP is selling over 1,000 rental properties across Atlanta and Nashville, Tenn., to Pretium Partners LLC for roughly $300 million, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the deal.

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