Blackstone Raises $1.6B Life Sciences Fund, Sees Opportunistic Real Estate Portfolio Value Swell 10%

Global investor Blackstone, which announced plans to acquire American Campus Communities earlier this week, has closed a new fund, Blackstone Life Sciences Yield, with $1.6B in investor capital. Blackstone said that total represented an oversubscription.

The fund will invest in post-approval, commercial-stage bioscience/biotech ventures. It will complement Blackstone Life Sciences' overall investment strategy in the life sciences sector.

On Thursday, Blackstone reported that the value of its private equity portfolio increased by 2.8% in Q1 2022, and its opportunistic real estate portfolio gained 10% in value. Helping to drive the real estate performance was a global portfolio of e-commerce warehouses, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Despite those gains, the investment behemoth's net income of $1.22B for the quarter, or $1.66 a share, was down from $1.75B, or $2.46 a share, for Q1 2021.

Blackstone warned that its deal volume might slow later this year, considering the world's economic and political dislocations.

“It’s hard to predict deal activity, although I would expect it to be lower than last year,” Blackstone President Jonathan Gray told the Financial Times.

Nevertheless, Blackstone had a busy first quarter, selling off about $23.2B in assets, including IntraFi Network and home healthcare equipment provider Apria Healthcare Group, among others.

Other major moves for Blackstone so far in 2022 include a deal to acquire Australian casino operator Crown Resorts; the recapitalization of Mileway, a European warehouse business; and a bid for Atlantia SpA, an Italian highway operator.

The investment giant's assets under management ended the first quarter at $915.5B, up from $648.8B a year earlier. Blackstone's stated goal is to reach $1T in assets by 2026.

As of the first quarter, Blackstone had $298.2B in real estate assets under management, a larger total than any of its other asset classes, including private equity ($268B) or credit and insurance ($266.4B). The company reports total dry powder of $139.3B, including $36.3B devoted to real estate.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's National Newsletters
Related Stories

Why Hines Is Restarting Its Development Engine

How Integrated Infrastructure Can Help AI Data Centers Deploy Faster, Build Smarter

Nvidia Buys Stake In Data Center Power Company

Invesco Cuts Fees, Adds Incentives To Quell Fund Redemption Requests

Investors Anchor Big Capital Into Marinas, Betting On Shallow Supply

Oncology Company Expands Footprint At Hines' Life Sciences Campus

NYC Office Investor Warns It Could Go Under As Defaults Pile Up

Pinewood Studios Pays Owners £100M Dividend And Completes £300M Refinancing

Nike Closes 15 Stores Amid Tumultuous Year

Large Commercial Real Estate Sales Up 30% Despite Economic Headwinds

Evergrande Founder Sentenced To Life, 56 Others Sent To Prison In China

Loud And Clear: Why Aiphone Thinks Intercom Ownership Is Best For Multitenant Buildings