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In what's called the largest-ever secondary-market deal, Blackstone is purchasing 43 real estate fund stakes for $3B from the California Public Employees' Retirement System as the pension plan continues to slim down.
CalPERS had said it was going to put the global real estate portfolio up for sale in June in order to reduce costs and invest with fewer asset managers. The sale with Blackstone "offloads assets that no longer fit with our strategic goals," CalPERS spokesman Joe DeAnda says.
It currently invests with about 200 managers across all asset classes but wants to cut down by half by 2020 due to a 37% loss (which it claimed from residential investments) back in 2010.
Instead, the fund, which has $27.1B in real estate holdings, wants to focus on core income investments like rental apartments, industrial parks and offices. [Bloomberg]
