MANAMA - Investcorp, a Bahrain-based asset manager which counts Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, today announced that it has acquired 32 industrial properties totaling approximately 3.5 million square feet across four major US markets for a total capitalization of over US$280 million.

According to the company's press release, the properties grow Investcorp’s wider US industrial real estate portfolios to approximately US$2 billion with 22 million square feet comprised of more than 260 buildings.

The latest acquisitions provide Investcorp with a new 96% leased portfolio of Class A and B warehouse, distribution, and flex industrial buildings with a diversified tenant base across a range of industries.

The portfolio includes a brand new, state of the art building leased 100% to a leading multinational Fortune 100 company. The properties comprising the portfolio are primarily located in the major industrial markets of Chicago, Illinois and Cleveland, Ohio, which rank as the first and 11th largest industrial markets in the US, respectively. Additional MSAs comprising the portfolio include Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio.

Speaking on the occasion, Yusef Al Yusef, Head of Gulf Institutional Clients Group at Investcorp, said, "We are excited to further enhance our robust industrial real estate footprint in the US with the addition of these stable, high-quality assets in major logistics markets. We believe that the current environment is only further accelerating e-commerce penetration and the need for more resilient supply chains."

Babak Sultani, Managing Director in the Placement and Distribution team at Investcorp, said, "Industrial, warehouse and logistics real estate are among our highest conviction global investment themes in today’s landscape. E-commerce sales are growing at a 15% CAGR, far outpacing industrial real estate supply at a 1.5% CAGR. We believe these tailwinds along with greater supply chain diversification, and on-shoring of goods in the US due to COVID-19 to maintain greater inventory levels, will drive greater demand for industrial real estate assets like the ones we have assembled across our portfolio."

Investcorp ranked as the second largest international buyer and fourth largest international seller of US real estate for the 2019 calendar year, according to Real Capital Analytics. In addition, Investcorp ranked as a top-15 overall buyer of US industrial real estate for the 2019 calendar year, according to Real Capital Analytics.

© WAM (Emirates News Agency) 2020