US: Investment firm KKR has agreed to buy a portfolio of 19 student housing assets from Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust for $1.64 billion.
The portfolio contains more than 10,000 beds across 19 assets located in 14 four-year public universities across 10 states.
KKR’s University Partners acquired the assets. University Partners was launched in 2016, and will own and manage more than 25,000 student housing beds when the Blackstone deal closes.
“This transaction is an excellent outcome for BREIT’s investors and demonstrates the strong demand for the high-quality assets,” said Jacob Werner, co-head of Americas acquisitions for Blackstone Real Estate.
BREIT acquired the properties in 2018 in a joint venture with Greystar Real Estate Partners.
Blackstone, through its portfolio firm American Campus Communities (ACC), is the largest owner of student housing in the United States, with more than 190 properties, representing about 140,000 beds. The alternative asset manager bought ACC in 2022 in a deal valued at $12.8 billion.
