Warehouse giant ProLogis is close to selling about 180 properties to Blackstone Group for $1bn, according to people familiar with the matter, in a deal that signals confidence in a sector that was pummelled during the recession by a fall-off in trade and inventories.

The sale involves more than 20 million square feet of warehouse and distribution property in a variety of US markets, people said. It's not clear what kind of a deal Blackstone is getting because it's not known which specific properties the private-equity firm is buying. But surveys show that industrial real-estate prices have bounced back more slowly than office buildings, shopping malls and other kinds of commercial real estate-in part because retailers have been slow to re-stock inventory.