Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (“BREIT”) announced today an agreement to acquire the EdR Student Housing Portfolio (the “Portfolio”), with 10,500 beds across 20 assets, for $1.2 billion, in a 95%/5% BREIT-led joint venture with Greystar Real Estate Partners (“Greystar”). The transaction will be completed in conjunction with Greystar’s previously announced $4.6 billion acquisition of Education Realty Trust (NYSE: EDR), one of the largest owners, developers and managers of collegiate housing in the United States with approximately 45,000 beds serving 47 universities in 26 states.

The Portfolio includes student housing assets adjacent to top-tier universities that have demonstrated strong enrollment growth, such as University of California Berkeley, University of California Riverside, University of Virginia, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, University of Colorado Boulder and Penn State. The Portfolio is on average eight years old and has consistently maintained occupancy rates over 97%. The Greystar / EdR team will continue to manage the assets.

“The transaction is consistent with BREIT’s strategy of acquiring high quality, income generating properties that have attractive long-term growth potential,” said Frank Cohen, Chairman and CEO at BREIT. “We are thrilled to acquire such a high-quality portfolio of student housing properties, concentrated in leading U.S. universities with growing enrollments, and we are thrilled to build on our long-standing relationship with Greystar.”

Proforma for this transaction, BREIT will own an approximately $10 billion portfolio of stabilized, income generating real estate concentrated in U.S. markets with attractive growth as well as real estate debt securities.

“Greystar is pleased to once again partner with Blackstone to further expand our footprint in the student housing space,” said Kevin Kaberna, Executive Director and leader of Greystar’s U.S. Investment Platform. “We are excited to capitalize on our significant scale and experience in the sector to enhance the platform’s performance and value over the long term.”

Following this transaction, Greystar will be the 2nd largest institutional owner and manager of student housing in the United States, in addition to Greystar’s global position as the largest student housing operator in Spain and the 3rd largest owner of student housing assets in the United Kingdom.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and TSB Capital Advisors are acting as financial advisors to BREIT, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal advisor to BREIT.