The Blackstone-owned operator is trading out of multi-tenant light industrial and back into fully leased assets in the same two markets.
NEW YORK — Link Logistics announced the acquisition of a fully leased industrial portfolio in Dallas and Austin on July 27, less than eight weeks after selling 2.3 million square feet of Texas industrial space in those same two markets.
Terms of the July acquisition were not disclosed in the announcement.
The timing is the story. On June 3, BKM Capital Partners and Kayne Anderson Real Estate acquired an 8.5 million-square-foot portfolio from Link Logistics in a $1.81 billion sale, the largest light industrial transaction since 2022, according to the buyers.
Texas accounted for 27% of that portfolio by square footage: 11 properties comprising 53 buildings and 300 units across 2.3 million square feet, located in the Austin and Dallas markets.
Selling one asset class, buying another
The two transactions are not contradictory. They point to a deliberate repositioning within Texas rather than a retreat from it.
The portfolio Link sold was multi-tenant light industrial — smaller-bay, higher-turnover space with 300 separate units across just 53 buildings in Texas. That asset class carries heavier management overhead and, in this case, was 90% leased across the full four-state portfolio. Buyers BKM and Kayne Anderson said they planned capital work on exteriors, roofs and HVAC systems, and intend to reduce office content across the properties from 37% to 33%.
Link’s reported July purchase is described as fully leased — a materially different risk profile requiring no lease-up execution and no repositioning capital.
The disposal was not isolated. Link also sold 15 industrial properties in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in November 2025.
Link’s Texas position
Even after these sales, Link remains one of the largest industrial owners in Texas.
Dallas-Fort Worth is the company’s third-largest market nationally at roughly 34 million square feet, behind Southern California at 48 million and Atlanta at 40 million. Rebel Blackwell, Link’s DFW market officer, has described the company as the second-largest industrial owner in the Metroplex, with space ranging from 5,000 square feet to million-square-foot distribution centers.
In Austin, Link is developing Juniper Crossing, a four-building complex exceeding 1 million square feet across 127 acres at 11902 Farm-to-Market Road 969 in far East Austin, near Tesla’s gigafactory. Link acquired the land in 2021.
Company-wide, the national portfolio spans roughly 500 million square feet across more than 3,000 properties in 40-plus markets, serving over 7,200 customers. Blackstone established the platform in 2019.
The demand backdrop
Link’s own Q1 2026 assessment identified three demand drivers: e-commerce growth, manufacturing investment and data center expansion.
Chief Executive Luke Petherbridge specifically flagged Texas, citing strength in “advanced manufacturing or defense spending” alongside the Southeast and Midwest.
That comment is directly relevant to the Dallas and Austin acquisition. Both markets sit at the intersection of all three drivers — Austin through semiconductor and EV manufacturing, Dallas through its position as a distribution nexus serving nearly 30 million people within 250 miles.
Blackwell has separately noted that simultaneous speculative development across DFW created a tenant-favorable window, arguing conditions favor businesses securing space before options tighten.
Why it matters
For shippers and 3PLs leasing space in Texas, ownership changes carry practical consequences. A landlord holding fully leased, stabilized assets manages differently than one executing a value-add repositioning plan — renewal terms, capital improvement schedules and expansion flexibility all shift.
For the broader industrial market, Link’s activity is a signal about where institutional capital sees risk. Selling fragmented multi-tenant space at scale while buying stabilized, fully leased assets in the same metros suggests a preference for income certainty over lease-up upside — even in markets the company publicly identifies as its strongest demand geographies.
