Blackstone could be kicking the tyres on four New Zealand shopping centres owned by the Westfield spin-out Scentre Group according to sources.
But its interest may not just extend to New Zealand.
About three centres here in Australia are also thought to be on its radar, although exactly which ones they are remains unclear.
In New Zealand, Scentre this year struck a $NZ1.04bn ($922 million) deal to sell stakes in five malls across the Tasman to the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore.
At the time, the listed Australian mall owner said a sale of the remaining four shopping centres it owned there was under consideration.
Should Blackstone buy the assets, it will not be the first time that the global private equity firm has snapped up shopping malls in Australasia.
The buyout firm secured control of the Top Ryde shopping centre in North Sydney during 2012 by picking up $341m worth of its distressed debt from its original lenders.
This was after Top Ryde spectacularly collapsed into receivership during the global financial crisis with loans as high as $790m.
This article first appeared in The Australian Business Review.