Private equity giant Blackstone Group Inc. and Canadian real estate investor Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc. are finalizing a deal to sell a 25% stake in the Liberty Place office complex in Sydney to ISPT Pty. Ltd. for A$400 million, The Australian reported.
The superannuation fund-backed group would increase its stake in the more than A$1.6 billion building to 50% from 25%, alongside the GPT Wholesale Office Fund managed by GPT Group. The complex is home to Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.'s 42-story headquarters building, or the ANZ Tower, and includes Legion House, 167 Castlereagh St., a retail plaza and a car park.
Separately, Cromwell Property Group backed out of its planned bid to acquire the Rundle Place shopping center in Adelaide, Australia, The Australian Financial Review reported.
Prior to Cromwell's exploration of a bid for the center, AMP Capital abandoned a potential A$250 million deal for the property after completing due diligence. Blackstone, however, was still looking to sell the center, and the office tower above it at 80 Grenfell St. The center has more than 85 shops across a 22,000-square-meter site.
The AFR added that Blackstone has also quietly tapped JLL and Stonebridge Property Group to market a pair of its regional retail assets: Warrawong Plaza, formerly Westfield Warrawong, in New South Wales, and Clifford Gardens Shopping Centre in Toowoomba City, Queensland.
Neither Blackstone nor ISPT commented on the potential Sydney tower stake deal, while brokers JLL and CBRE did not return calls, according to The Australian. Blackstone and Cromwell did not comment on the cancelled bid for Rundle Place, according to the AFR.
