By Paul Rosta, Executive Editor

In a move that will give Blackstone a significant footprint in the life sciences sector, affiliates of the investment management giant struck an $8 billion agreement to buy BioMed Realty Trust, the firms announced on Thursday morning. The deal is scheduled to close during the first quarter of 2016.

One of the largest investor/developers in its specialty, San Diego-based BioMed has interests in 18.8 million square feet of space in the sector. Its principal markets are hubs in the Boston, Maryland, San Francisco, San Diego, New York/New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Seattle areas.

“Demand for high-quality, institutional real estate to support the unprecedented growth of the life science industry is at historic levels as demand is outpacing supply in all of our core innovation districts,” said Alan Gold, BioMed’s chairman & CEO, in a statement. “However, we believe that the public markets are not adequately valuing our assets and proven business model.”

For Blackstone, this morning’s announcement is the latest in a series of blockbuster deals. Its $6 billion acquisition of Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc., the Chicago-based hospitality REIT, is scheduled to close during the first quarter next year.

Stay tuned for in-depth coverage of the Blackstone-BioMed deal on www.commercialsearch.com/news and in tomorrow’s daily newsletter.