(Bloomberg)—The University of California is investing $500 million more into Blackstone Inc.’s massive real estate fund for wealthy investors, adding to a $4 billion commitment earlier this month.
The new investment, which is expected to close March 1, will have the same structure, terms and fees as the university’s initial stake in Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, according to a statement Wednesday. Those terms include a six-year lock up of the money, with Blackstone contributing $125 million to support a minimum 11.25% annual return.
Blackstone built BREIT into a $69 billion real estate behemoth that owns properties from Las Vegas’s Bellagio hotel and casino to student housing and storage centers, helping expand the private equity firm’s reach with rich individuals. But BREIT came under pressure last year with more investors seeking to pull money out given the shift in markets, causing Blackstone to limit withdrawals from the trust in December for the first time.
BREIT’s institutional class shareholders received an 8.4% total return in 2022, when most real estate funds lost money and stocks and bonds declined.
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