The world’s largest alternative assets manager Blackstone (NYSE: BX) is to acquire the Hamilton Island resort from the Oatley family.
No financial details of the acquisition have been disclosed but it is believed Blackstone has agreed to pay around $1.2 billion. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals.
Blackstone already owns Crown Resorts, Australia’s largest hospitality employer which operates casinos, hotels and associated venues in Sydney Perth and Melbourne. Blackstone acquired Crown, then an ASX-listed company, for $8.9 billion in 2022.
The Hamilton Island resort property comprises about 1,133 hectares across two islands inside the Great Barrier Reef in far north Queensland. The property includes five hotels, more than 20 restaurants and bars, 20 retail outlets, an 18-hole championship golf course on Dent Island, a marina and a commercial airport. Seventy per cent of the property remains undeveloped.
Head of real estate Asia for Blackstone, Chris Heady, said Hamilton Island was an “exceptional location” which would be a standout asset to add to Blackstone’s hospitality and leisure portfolio.
He paid tribute to the Oatley family’s work in developing Hamilton Island over two decades and added: “We are committed to investing in the long-term success of Hamilton Island, its people, and its local business community.”
Hamilton Island was a passion project for the Oatley family under its late patriarch Bob Oatley who died in 2016. Oatley bought the property for $200 million in 2003. Oatley’s children, Sandy, Ian and Rosalind, said they were delighted a partner of Blackstone’s calibre and resources would continue the family’s legacy.
In addition to hospitality and other real estate assets, Blackstone’s Australian investments include a stake in AirTrunk, the largest data centre provider in the Asia Pacific region. A consortium of Blackstone and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) acquired a large majority of AirTrunk for $23.5 billion in 2024. Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG) and AirTrunk founder and chief executive Robin Khuda were vendors in the deal that valued AirTrunk at over $24 billion.
Globally, Blackstone has more than $US12 trillion ($18 trillion) in assets under management across real estate, private equity, credit, infrastructure, growth capital, secondary investments and hedge funds.
Image: Seventy per cent of the Hamilton Island resort property remains undeveloped.