Blackstone’s Latest Real Estate Buy Features Simpson Lawyers

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Clifford Chance scored lead roles on Blackstone’s $4 billion deal to take Retail Opportunity Investment Corp. private.

Blackstone Real Estate Partners X will purchase all outstanding common shares of ROIC for $17.50 a share in an all-cash deal, according to a Wednesday announcement. ROIC owns 93 grocery-anchored retail properties in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland.

M&A partners Brian Stadler and Matthew Rogers led the Simpson Thacher team on the deal, along with Sasan Mehrara, the head of the firm’s real estate practice.

Stadler has advised Blackstone on more than 30 take private transactions, including its $39 billion acquisition of Equity Office Properties and its $26 billion acquisition of Hilton. Stadler and Rogers also represented Blackstone in its $18.7 billion acquisition of the US logistics business of Global Logistics Properties, the largest-ever private real estate transaction.

Simpson Thacher advised on more than $208 billion in M&A deals through the first three quarters of this year, landing in the fourth spot on Bloomberg Law’s league tables.

Clifford Chance took the lead for ROIC with Jay Bernstein, chair of the firm’s US REIT, specialty finance and permanent capital vehicle practices, and M&A partners John Healy and Chang-Do Gong leading the transaction. Gong joined the firm as co-head of its US M&A practice in May from White & Case.