Swedish private equity company EQT is acquiring Exeter Property Group for $1.9 billion in a stock-and-cash transaction. 

Majority owned by Ward Fitzgerald and other Exeter management team members, Exeter is focused on acquiring, developing and managing logistics/industrial, life science/office and residential properties across the US and Europe. Founded in 2006, it has 37 local deal offices and for 2020 is expected to generate approximately $135 million in revenues and approximately $80 million in EBITDA excluding carried interest. The acquisition is expected to equate to a mid-teens EBITDA multiple on a run-rate basis at completion.

The respective portfolios and investment strategies are complementary, EQT says in a press release, noting that : Exeter is a leading investment manager in the logistics/industrial space in the US and Europe, with a growing presence in US life science/suburban office and residential multi-family segments. EQT's existing strength is in European real estate. Also, "Exeter's investment philosophy aligns with EQT's, applying a highly thematic value-creation approach and a local-with-locals focus," it said.