Global private equity investor Blackstone is cashed up, very keen on real estate and no deal is too big, the group's chief executive and chairman, Stephen A. Schwarzman, says.
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At the third-quarter results, issued in New York last week, Mr Schwarzman said recent market volatility should create opportunities for the group.
"We have raised an industry record $US97 billion ($134 billion) of capital over the past year to pursue such opportunities," he said.
The real estate behemoth is also leading a deal to buy New York's Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village. The transaction would put Manhattan's largest apartment complex in the hands of the world's biggest private equity firm.
Bloomberg reports that Blackstone, with Canada's Ivanhoe Cambridge, will pay about $US5.3 billion for the 32-hectare property.
That's just less than the record $US5.4 billion that prior owners Tishman Speyer and BlackRock paid almost nine years ago before walking away from the mortgage in 2010, marking one of the biggest collapses after the last decade's real estate boom.
Blackstone, after raising a record $US15.8 billion for a global real estate fund, was also planning to gather money for a new European property pool, said Tony James, president of the world's largest alternative asset manager.
In Australia, Blackstone entered through its Valad takeover. It also holds properties with Mirvac, including a half share of Westpac's headquarters at 275 Kent Street.
Blackstone Real Estate Asia has bought centres in Figtree and Warrawong in NSW and Strathpine in Queensland.
On the sell side, Blackstone's Valad offloaded Gold Fields House last December to Dalian Wanda for $425 million.
So the question being asked by local investors is where will Blackstone turn next.
One suggestion is a takeover of Mirvac. The two have a good relationship and Mirvac's high-quality office and mixed use residential portfolios make it a very attractive proposition.
Broking analysts have been put Mirvac on a merger and acquisition watch list.
However, they also say Mirvac is still in the running for the Investa platform.
In a recent note to clients, Michael Vincent from Petra Capital said other real estate investment trusts were being considered by Country Garden, Fosun, Greenland and others, especially with the low Australian dollar.
"Mirvac is still my top pick as a potential takeover with the stock trading below net tangible assets, while Investa Office Fund is also likely to be bid for," Mr Vincent said.
If Blackstone expands its Australian office market presence, it will do so at the right time.
One of the country's big landlords, DEXUS Property, released its third-quarter results on Thursday. It reaffirmed 2016 full-year guidance for 5.5 per cent to 6 per cent growth in funds from operations per security.
DEXUS chief executive Darren Steinberg said despite negative sentiment on the Australian economy, there was significant leasing activity across the office, industrial and retail real estate sectors, with expectations that leasing would remain strong in the lead-up to the end of 2015.
DEXUS executive general manager, office and industrial, Kevin George, said that net absorption across the Australian east coast CBD office markets remained solid as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane CBDs recorded a combined 77,152 square metres of positive net absorption for the September quarter.
