Blackstone JV to Acquire Alexander & Baldwin

A joint venture between funds affiliated with Blackstone Real Estate, MW Group and DivcoWest will acquire Hawaii-based Alexander & Baldwin, the state’s largest grocery-anchored shopping center owner.

The partnership will buy all outstanding A&B common shares for $21.20 per share representing a 40 percent premium to closing price on Dec. 8. The all-cash transaction is valued at about $2.3 billion, including outstanding debt.

A&B’s Board of Directors unanimously approved the transaction scheduled to close in the first quarter of next year. As a result, the commercial real estate operator will become a private company.

BofA Securities is A&B’s exclusive financial advisor, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Cades Schutte LLP are the company’s legal advisors. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo and Eastdil Secured act as Blackstone’s financial advisors, while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Carlsmith Ball LLP are its legal counsels. DivcoWest’s legal counsel is Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

The deal’s terms and conditions

A&B will retain its name, brand and headquarters in Honolulu. A Hawaii-based team will continue to lead the company. Additionally, the joint venture already plans to invest more than $100 million in capital improvement across the portfolio.

The company’s 4 million-square-foot commercial collection includes 21 retail centers, 14 industrial developments and four office properties, as well as fee interests in 146 acres of ground lease assets.

Blackstone’s recent retail deals

In February, Retail Opportunity Investments Corp.’s shareholders approved the proposed merger with Blackstone Real Estate Partners X. The two companies entered the deal valued at $4 billion in November 2024.

A few months later, Blackstone consolidated three of its portfolio companies to form Perform Properties, bringing together ShopCore Properties, Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. and EQ Office. At that time, the new platform contained 33 million square feet of retail and office assets across the U.S. Just last week, the surviving entity sold The Shops at Skyview, a 550,000-square-foot New York City mall for $425 million.