The transaction, announced by Brixmor and Everview, will divide Slate Grocery REIT’s portfolio of 115 US grocery-anchored shopping centres between Brixmor and a newly formed institutional joint venture. The ADIA subsidiary will invest alongside Everview in the venture, extending the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund’s exposure to US commercial real estate.
Brixmor will effectively acquire 23 grocery-anchored centres, comprising full ownership of 22 properties and a 50 per cent interest in another, for $636 million. The properties cover about three million square feet and are concentrated in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, all markets where Brixmor already operates.
The remaining 92 properties, spanning about 12 million square feet, will be acquired for $1.71 billion by the joint venture formed between Brixmor and affiliates of Everview. Brixmor will hold a 20 per cent common equity interest, while Everview will hold 80 per cent. The companies did not disclose the size of ADIA’s investment alongside Everview.
Brixmor will also invest about $174 million of preferred equity in the joint venture, carrying a 9 per cent dividend, and will serve as asset manager, property manager and leasing representative for the 92-centre portfolio.
Slate Grocery REIT unitholders are to receive $13 in cash for each unit under the definitive arrangement agreement. The consideration represents a premium of about 13 per cent to the units’ closing price on May 21, the final trading day before Slate publicly announced a strategic review, and about 20 per cent over the September 23 closing price, immediately before the REIT announced the suspension of distributions.
The deal values Slate at approximately $2.34 billion on an enterprise basis. Slate owns and operates grocery-anchored open-air retail properties across the United States, a segment that has attracted institutional capital because supermarkets and other necessity-based tenants can generate steady customer traffic.
Brixmor said the 23 properties it will take into its own portfolio are about 96 per cent leased. Grocery anchors include Publix, Harris Teeter and Kroger. Across both the directly acquired and joint venture portfolios, existing rents average about 32 per cent below those in Brixmor’s current portfolio, according to the company.
Brian Finnegan, Brixmor’s chief executive officer and president, said the transaction aligned with the company’s growth strategy by adding grocery-anchored centres in markets it already knows and by using the joint venture structure to deploy capital efficiently. Brixmor said it sees opportunities to increase value through leasing, redevelopment and development of additional sites within the properties.
Everview founder and chief executive Billy Rahm said the investment firm expected grocery-anchored open-air retail to continue benefiting from limited new supply and durable tenant demand. Everview, founded in 2024, invests across the capital structure in real assets and companies.
For Slate, the agreement follows the strategic review announced in May, when a special committee of independent trustees was established to examine alternatives. Slate’s board of trustees and Brixmor’s board have approved the transaction.
Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2027, subject to approval by Slate unitholders and other customary closing conditions. The acquisition is not subject to a financing condition.
Royal Bank of Canada has provided Brixmor with a bridge commitment to fund the capital it requires for both the directly owned properties and the joint venture portfolio. Wells Fargo Bank and Royal Bank of Canada have also provided a debt commitment to the joint venture.
The structure gives Brixmor operating responsibility across the joint venture assets without taking majority common ownership. Alongside its 20 per cent common equity stake and preferred investment, the company expects to receive asset management, property management and leasing fees from the partnership.
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