Blackstone to Buy Interior Logic for $1.6 Billion in Housing Bet

(Bloomberg) -- Blackstone Group Inc. is buying Interior Logic Group Inc. for about $1.6 billion including debt, preempting the company's initial public offering and bolstering a bet on single-family housing.

Private equity funds managed by Blackstone are acquiring the interior-design technology provider from a group including Littlejohn & Co. and Platinum Equity, according to an emailed statement Monday. Last month, Interior Logic applied to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker “ILG.”

Interior Logic also provides supply-chain and installation-management services to homebuilders. The Irvine, California-based company operates in 37 states. Blackstone hopes to expand the company's geographic reach and enhance its technology, said Seth Meisel, a senior managing director with the firm.

“ILG's technology, relationships and purpose position it exceptionally well in the single-family real estate value chain,” Vikram Suresh, a managing director at Blackstone, said in the statement. The investment is being done through the firm's private equity business.

Blackstone, one of the world's largest real estate investors, is getting in on the rebound in single-family housing in the U.S. fueled by low borrowing costs and the need for larger living spaces during the pandemic. U.S. home construction starts climbed in December to the fastest pace since late 2006.

The investment firm has a long history in this market. In 2017, it did an IPO for single-family rental operator Invitation Homes Inc.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.