Weekly Real Estate News
DALLAS — Real estate investment manager GID and an affiliate of StepStone Real Estate have formed a joint venture and completed a $985 million manager-led secondary transaction involving 87 industrial buildings across eight U.S. markets.
The companies announced the transaction on October 26, 2026. The portfolio totals approximately 8 million square feet, according to GID’s official announcement. The companies described the deal as one of the largest U.S. industrial transactions so far this year.
Eight industrial markets
The portfolio spans Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Jacksonville, Portland, San Antonio and Seattle. The properties are characterized as infill light-industrial assets, a category that can include smaller distribution and service buildings closer to population centers.
GID has managed the portfolio since 2021 and will remain its asset manager under the newly established joint venture. StepStone Real Estate, the real estate investment arm of publicly traded StepStone Group, is participating through an affiliate.
What makes this a secondary transaction?
A manager-led secondary allows a portfolio already overseen by an investment manager to move into a new ownership or investment structure, often providing liquidity to some existing investors while retaining management continuity. This deal should not be characterized as a conventional purchase of 87 buildings from an unrelated operator.
The companies confirmed that the transaction closed, but their announcement did not disclose the exact closing date, equity ownership split, financing terms or individual property valuations.
Why investors are targeting infill industrial assets
GID Industrial President Rene Circ said the company’s familiarity with the properties and tenants would support continued active management. John Waters, partner and global co-head of investments at StepStone Real Estate, cited the constrained supply of infill industrial space as an attraction.
GID reported approximately $33.3 billion in assets under management as of June 30, including more than 58,000 apartments and over 28 million square feet of industrial and commercial space. StepStone Group reported responsibility for approximately $913 billion in total capital at the same date, including $245 billion in assets under management. Those firmwide figures are not the size of this transaction.
The deal illustrates the use of private-market recapitalizations to maintain exposure to existing industrial properties while reshaping the capital behind them.
Source: GID and StepStone Real Estate joint announcement, October 26, 2026.
