Seven firms have led as the last of the Australian real estate trusts (A-REIT) investing in the Japanese real estate market has sold its portfolio of Japanese retail, office, and residential properties.
Blackstone has entered into an agreement to buy Astro Japan Property Trust’s $1.1bn portfolio.
Blackstone was advised by
Ashurst, Morrison & Foerster, and Nishimura & Asahi.
Herbert Smith Freehills acted for Astro, with a team led by partner Justin O’Farrell, who was supported by senior associate Brock Colville and graduate Curtis Vella.
Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu was Astro’s counsel for Japanese advice. Its team was led by partner Rintaro Hirano.
Johnson Winter & Slattery and White & Case acted for Spring, the Japanese asset manager.
O’Farrell, who this June assisted Brookfield Prime Property Fund on the buyout scheme for the fund, said that the A-REIT and real estate markets remain “very active.”
“Astro is the last of the Australian real estate investment trusts (A-REITs) investing in Japanese real estate. The cross-border requirements for dealings with this kind of vehicle have always presented their fair share of intellectual challenges, and this deal has been no exception,” he said.
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