Private equity giant Blackstone has cut a deal to pay $1.5 billion for a portfolio of logistics centres, in the latest sign that this e-commerce-driven business is one of the hottest areas in the commercial property industry.

Blackstone, the world's largest private real estate owner, has signed a contract to buy the 12 million square foot portfolio of mostly West Coast property from LBA Realty, an Irvine, Calif.-based investment company with properties in the western US, according to people familiar with the matter.