A joint venture between SparrowHawk and Almanac Realty Investors has secured $236 million in acquisition debt to buy a 4.4 million-square-foot, 20-property U.S. industrial portfolio, according to a release.  

Fidelity Investments reported earlier that the joint venture purchased the portfolio from EQT for just under $400 million. 

PPM America provided the $236 million debt, structured as a five-year, fixed-and-floating rate loan, while the JLL Capital Markets team of Brian Walsh, Lucas Borges, Steve Klein, Chris Pratt, Emma Berner and Christian Johnston arranged the transaction. 

JLL’s Walsh noted in a statement that SparrowHawk has “deep operational expertise” with industrial assets, while he described Almanac Realty Investors as an institutional player with “substantial capital resources.”

“This transaction attracted significant lender interest given the institutional quality of the sponsorship and the portfolio’s strategic positioning across high-performing Midwest markets,” Walsh said.

Known as “The Central Logistics Portfolio,” the 20-asset assemblage is located across six markets in four states — Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois — and is 94 percent occupied by 30 logistics and distribution tenants specializing in different industries.

The 20 buildings, on average, opened in 2006 and have an average building size of 221,000 square feet, while the portfolio itself is within a day’s drive of 50 percent of the U.S. population, due to its location in four Midwest states and cities Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Louisville, Cleveland and St. Louis.  

The deal comes less than a year after SparrowHawk secured a $300 million capital investment from Almanac Realty Investors to finance acquisitions. 

“The strategic location of these assets across key Midwest markets, combined with JLL’s financing expertise and PPM’s execution, positions us well for long-term growth,” said Alfredo Gutierrez, president and founder of SparrowHawk, in a statement. 

Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com.