Blackstone, the world’s largest private equity firm, is expanding its footprint in South Korea’s logistics real estate market with the acquisition of two additional assets: MQ Logistics’ Gimpo Gochon and Namyangju Hwado Logistics Centers, for a combined price of USD 250 million.

This move follows Blackstone’s November 2023 acquisition of the Gimpo Seonggwang Logistics Center, bringing its Korean logistics portfolio to three assets—all located in last-mile submarkets with strong access to the Seoul metropolitan area.

A Strategic Return After a Multi-Year Absence

Blackstone had previously entered the Korean logistics market in 2016, acquiring five facilities in southeastern Gyeonggi Province—including Yongin, Icheon, and Anseong—before selling the entire portfolio to Mapletree in 2020. This marked the firm’s first complete investment cycle in Korean industrial real estate.

After several years away, Blackstone re-established its local presence in 2022 by opening its Seoul office. Its acquisition of the Gimpo Seonggwang Logistics Center in 2023—a 29,999 sqm asset purchased for approximately USD 61.85 million—signaled its re-entry into the market, now followed by the Gochon and Hwado transactions.

According to the logistics center industry on the 14th, Blackstone has agreed to acquire MQ Logistics' Gimpo Gochon Logistics Center and Namyangju Hwado Logistics Center for USD 250 million.

The acquisition will be executed through a fund managed by Cube Industrial, a joint venture between Warburg Pincus and MQ Logistics. The two newly secured properties include:

ŸGimpo Gochon Logistics Center:
Located at 108 Araeung-ro 57beon-gil, Gimpo, the asset spans 78,317 m² across B1–4F. It accommodates both ambient and limited cold storage functions. Notable tenants include GS Networks, CJ Logistics, Market Kurly, and Geo-Young.

ŸNamyangju Hwado Logistics Center:
Situated in Hwado-eup, Namyangju, this facility offers B1–3F and sits on a 29,995 m² land parcel. It is currently leased to Coupang and Hanjin.

Both assets are strategically positioned within 10 minutes of expressway interchanges offering direct access to Seoul’s northeastern and southeastern districts—key for last-mile delivery operations.

All three of Blackstone’s Korean logistics assets are situated in last-mile locations with strategic access to Seoul’s population centers. The Hwado facility, for example, is within a 10-minute drive from major expressway interchanges that connect directly to districts such as Nowon-gu, Songpa-gu, Gangdong-gu, and Dobong-gu.

An industry expert commented:

“It’s no coincidence that Blackstone’s logistics assets are all clustered in Seoul-adjacent last-mile corridors. The strategy clearly focuses on urban delivery infrastructure where tenant demand is both resilient and growing.”

With three assets now in hand, the market is closely watching to see whether Blackstone will replicate its 2016–2020 aggregation-and-exit play, or whether it aims to hold these properties as part of a longer-term core-plus strategy centered around stable income generation and selective growth.

A local logistics sector analyst noted: 

“The pattern resembles their earlier playbook—acquire multiple high-quality logistics centers, concentrate in one region, and build scale. Whether they hold or exit, the current market conditions support both possibilities.”

This article was published in Corebeat on 14th of March, 2025.