Blackstone to acquire QTS Realty Trust private in $10 billion deal

Blackstone Group Inc

Blackstone Group Inc would acquire data center operator QTS Realty Trust Inc private in an all-cash deal worth about $10 billion, the company’s investment firm said on Monday.

Blackstone Funds will pay $78 per share, which represents a premium of about 21 percent to QTS’ closing price on Friday.

Shares of QTS surged about 21 percent to hit a record high of $78.24.

The equity value of the deal stands at $5.37 billion, according to Reuters calculations, based on 68.9 million outstanding shares, as of April 29.

The COVID-19 pandemic accompanied with the remote working environment bolstered demand for cloud services, which are reliant on data centers. QTS has more than 7 million square feet of data center space throughout North America and Europe.

The $10-billion transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of this year, includes the assumption of the data center operator’s existing debt.

The deal also includes a 40-day go-shop period, which will let QTS solicit and consider other proposals, the companies said.

Jefferies and Morgan Stanley were financial advisers to QTS, while Citigroup Global Markets, Barclays, Deutsche Bank Securities and Goldman Sachs advised Blackstone.

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