(Reuters) -The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp-run Signature Bridge Bank said on Thursday it has sold 20% of its equity stake in a venture that holds a $16.8 billion real estate loan portfolio, which it had retained in receivership of the failed bank.
Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Real Estate Income Trust, Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Rialto Capital paid $1.2 billion for a 20% equity stake in the venture, the investors said in a separate statement.
"Blackstone's extraordinary real estate insights and credit expertise positioned us to underwrite about $17 billion of senior mortgage loans, allowing us to acquire the entire commercial real estate loan portfolio at an attractive basis," Jonathan Pollack, global head of Blackstone Real Estate Credit, said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Blackstone, one of the world's biggest non-bank lenders, said this was a "golden moment" to expand its credit business after lenders were retrenching in the wake of the regional banking crisis.
Investor worries about the health of the commercial real estate sector has also prompted lenders to limit their exposure to the industry, especially as they grapple with stricter regulatory capital requirements and a potential slowdown in loan demand.
A significant chunk of Signature Bank (OTC:SBNY)'s loans and almost all of its deposits were bought by a unit of New York Community Bancorp (NYSE:NYCB) in March, in a deal put together by the FDIC.
Signature Bridge Bank was created after state regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank in March and the FDIC took control.
In September, the FDIC had announced the start of a marketing process for the nearly $33 billion Commercial Real Estate (CRE) loan portfolio it retained.