The Blackstone Group (BX) will take over management of a Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC) Asian real-estate fund. The real estate portfolio is worth around $2 billion, excluding debt, the Financial Times reported. Blackstone will help unwind the portfolio and will not acquire any assets from it.

"Sponsoring real estate investment will not be a core business for Bank of America Merrill Lynch," the bank said. "We will continue to be the general partner of the fund and an investor in it."

Blackstone has told investors that it expects all its real estate funds to show profits at the end of their investment term.