Blackstone Group LP and Morgan Stanley To Buy Lloyds Banking Group PLC's Australia Loans-Reuters

Reuters reported that Blackstone Group LP and Morgan Stanley have agreed to pay AUD640 million ($621 million) to acquire a AUD1.9 billion portfolio of distressed property loans in Australia from a unit of Lloyds Banking Group PLC's Banking Group. The Blackstone Real Estate Property Fund VII and the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund VII, backed by financing from Deutsche Bank are acquiring the distressed debt at around 34 cents on the dollar. Lloyds put the Australian portfolio on the block in March, looking to wind down its non-core assets. It had inherited the assets when it bought HBOS in 2008, including the Bank of Scotland and its international unit, BOS International. The deal is being signed on Friday. Morgan Stanley and Blackstone were not immediately available for comment.