Purchase of World Market Center in downtown Las Vegas complete

By Eli Segall Las Vegas Review-Journal

8 years ago

World Market Center on Friday, July 7, 2017, in Las Vegas. It was recently sold to the Blackstone Group. Morgan Lieberman Las Vegas Review-Journal

World Market Center Las Vegas, left, and the Clark County Government Center near Symphony Park in Las Vegas, on Tuesday, Sept.12, 2017. Gabriella Angotti-Jones Las Vegas Review-Journal @gabriellangojo

Exhibitor hallway in Building C at Las Vegas Market at World Market Center on Tuesday, August 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. Morgan Lieberman Las Vegas Review-Journal

Las Vegas Market at World Market Center patio on Tuesday, August 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. Morgan Lieberman Las Vegas Review-Journal

World Market Center on Friday, July 7, 2017, in Las Vegas. It was recently sold to the Blackstone Group. Morgan Lieberman Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Blackstone Group has completed its purchase of World Market Center, downtown Las Vegas’ massive furniture-showroom hall.

The New York investment powerhouse announced Tuesday that it completed its previously announced acquisition of International Market Centers, owner and operator of 12.2 million square feet of home-furnishings showroom space in Las Vegas and High Point, North Carolina.

Terms of the sale, by investment firms Bain Capital and Oaktree Capital Management, were not disclosed.

Fireside Investments partnered with Blackstone on the deal, which was unveiled in July.

World Market Center, on Grand Central Parkway at Bonneville Avenue, spans 5.4 million square feet. It rents year-round showroom space to home-furnishings suppliers and hosts two industry gatherings per year that typically last a week and draw 45,000 attendees each.

It opened in 2005 with one building, expanded in 2007 with a second building and grew again in 2008 with a third, plus a 3,600-car parking garage.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.