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When Blackstone Inc. put a portfolio of student dorms up for sale, it worked behind the scenes to make the deal even more attractive.

First, the firm dangled the option for buyers to take over $800 million in debt that had already been negotiated at low rates. And after bids came in, Blackstone stepped up as a provider of below-market financing, bringing the total package to about $1 billion.

KKR & Co. won the deal, agreeing to buy the properties from the $59 billion Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust. The sale was announced in time for a crucial April shareholder call, when President Jon Gray said the 7% premium BREIT got for the dorm sale was among “inconvenient facts for our critics.”