Blackstone Real Estate Fund Raises $13.3 Billion

Blackstone

today announced that it has closed its latest global real estate fund, Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII (BREP VII). The fund raised $13.3 billion over the past 13 months from more than 250 investors globally. The largest category of investor in the fund is U.S. public pension plans, funding the retirements of state and local employees. Approximately 35% of the fund's capital has already been committed or invested in a wide variety of asset classes and geographies. Commenting on the closing, Jonathan D. Gray, the global head of Blackstone's real estate business, said, “We are extremely appreciative to our investors for their strong support of BREP VII. We believe the current environment provides a highly attractive opportunity to generate favorable returns for them. In addition, we think that the experience and global reach of our team uniquely positions us to capitalize on this opportunity.” Blackstone's real estate unit manages more than $50B in equity as of the end of the third quarter. BREP VII is the largest opportunistic real estate fund ever raised.