Blackstone in U.S. mall deal with Glimcher

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity firm Blackstone Group (BX.N) is to buy stakes in two of Glimcher Realty Trust's (GRT.N) malls by setting up a joint venture with the group, the pair announced on Thursday.

Blackstone, which has a huge real estate portfolio, said in September it was starting to see attractive opportunities in real estate again, after waiting on the sidelines for deals since 2007.

It said at the time it had $12 billion of capital to invest in real estate, and planned to ratchet up the number of deals.

Later that month, it struck a deal to buy a 50 percent stake in City of London office complex Broadgate, one of London's largest office landmarks, from British Land (BLND.L).

Under the Glimcher deal, Blackstone will hold 60 percent of the joint venture and Glimcher will retain the remaining 40 percent.

The combined deal is valued at $320 million which includes $218 million in mortgage loans currently in place on the properties.

The deal will generate net proceeds of approximately $60 million to Glimcher.

The malls are in Portland, Oregon and Tampa, Florida.