£5.7bn US retail deal for Blackstone

Private equity firm Blackstone Group has snapped up nearly 600 shopping centres in the US from Australia's debt-laden Centro Properties for some £5.7 billion in one of the biggest global property deals since the credit crisis.

Blackstone - making its first major entry into US retail property - was expected to recapitalise the portfolio of mainly neighbourhood shopping centres before seeking a return on the investment in three to five years, Centro executives said yesterday. Blackstone beat a number of rival bidders to secure the deal.