SYDNEY: US private equity firm Blackstone has agreed to buy Australian property firm Valad Property Group in a deal valuing the target at A$207 million (RM666.39 million), Valad said on Friday, Apr 29.

It marks Blackstone's second deal with a troubled Australian property firm this year, after the buyout giant paid US$9.4 billion (RM27.73 billion) to Centro Properties for nearly 600 US shopping malls in March.

Blackstone will also take on Valad's liabilities, including almost A$500 million of debt under the deal, according to a report on the Australian newspaper's web site.

Valad, a real estate investment group with an international network of offices managing A$8 billion in 13 countries, is laden with debt with its gearing at 51.3 percent as of Dec 31, 2010.

Valad said in a statement Blackstone had offered A$1.80 per security. Shares of Valad, which went into a trading halt Thursday, ended at A$1.16 on Wednesday.

The shares rallied 52 percent to A$1.755 on Friday after the deal was announced, in line with the offer price.

Valad's shares had dived during the global financial crisis from a peak of A$49.92 — implying a market capitalisation of A$3 billion — to US$0.44 at their nadir. It went on a A$2 billion expansion spree in 2007, but struggled to pay off debt. — Reuters

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