JV Buys $1.34B Los Angeles Office Portfolio

Douglas Emmett, Inc., the California-based REIT, announced that in a joint venture with Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) it had acquired a 1,725,000 square foot office portfolio in Westwood for $1.34 billion, or approximately $777 per square foot. The JV secured a a non-recourse $580 million interest-only loan with a seven-year term in connection with the acquisition. The interest rate is floating at Libor plus 1.40%, which has been fixed at 2.37% annually for five years through an interest rate swap.

Douglas Emmett indicated that it plans to retain 20-30% of the equity in the joint venture, with the remaining interests being held by institutional partners. With this purchase, Douglas Emmett controls 74% of the Westwood Wilshire office corridor, where it already owned One Westwood, 10960 Wilshire, The Tower, 10880 Wilshire, Westwood Place and Westwood Center.

For QIA, this joint venture represents another step in its plans to significantly expand its US investment portfolio, and follows other large investments in real estate, such as in New York City last year. In 2015, QIA announced plans to invest $35 billion in North America over five years.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

HCP Acquires Scottsdale MOBs for $81M

HCP Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Long Beach, CA, have successfully acquired eight on-campus medical office buildings (MOBs) for $81 million from Scottsdale Healthcare. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed. Keith Jones, a spokesman for Scottsdale Healthcare, said the transaction was part of the nonprofit health system's ongoing strategy in a Phoenix Business Journal article. "Most hospitals do not own their own medical office buildings, and real estate management is not part of our core business," he said. The land is still owned by Scottsdale Healthcare and is being leased to HCP.

The eight on-campus MOBs located in Scottsdale, Arizona comprise approximately 398,000 rentable sq. ft. and have a current occupancy of 89% according to HCP's Q2 earnings call information. The properties are spread over three Scottsdale campuses: Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center, 7400 E. Osborn Road; Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center, 9003 E. Shea Blvd., and Scottsdale Healthcare Thompson Peak Hospital, 7400 E. Thompson Peak Parkway.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Hammerson London Office Portfolio Sold for £518M

Hammerson PLC announced this week that it had sold the majority of its office portfolio totaling 884,000 square feet to Brookfield Office Properties for aggregate cash proceeds of £518 million, or $812 million. Brookfield Office Properties is funding the acquisitions through the assumption of $106 million of debt, additional property-level debt expected to be put in place prior to close and from available cash resources. Earlier this year Hammerson announced a revised strategy to become a specialist retail property company, and the intention to sell its London office assets.

The portfolio includes:

-125 Old Broad Street: 26 floors and 98% leased
- 99 Bishopsgate: 26 floors and 62% leased
- Leadenhall Court: 6 floors and 100% leased
- 1 Puddle Dock: 7 floors and 100% leased
- Principal Place, a development property planned for a 599,000-square-foot office tower

Brookfield will look at other buying opportunities “across all of the central London marketplaces,” Martin Jepson, senior vice president for development and investment, told Bloomberg. "This transaction is a unique opportunity for Brookfield Office Properties to acquire a portfolio of top-quality office assets and a well-located development site in the London market," said Dennis Friedrich, president and global chief investment officer of Brookfield Office Properties. "This acquisition aligns with our strategy of providing front-office accommodations to the world's most prestigious tenants by owning and operating premier properties that are well-located within the most dynamic global markets."

For more news or information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tishman Speyer Forms New JV for Office Portfolio

Tishman Speyer Australia Limited, in its capacity as responsible entity of Tishman Speyer Office Fund (TSOF), announced that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by a new joint venture between Tishman Speyer and a large pension fund. Tishman completed the transaction on April 3 with the new JV taking majority ownership interests in a portfolio of 16 U.S. office properties.

The joint venture holds a 100% stake in four properties - three Class A properties in Beverly Hills, California and a three-building suburban complex in Northern Virginia according to a Citybizlist New York article.

• Lakeside Complex (Loudon County, VA)
• Maple Plaza (Beverly Hills)
• 407 North Maple Dr (Beverly Hills)
• Beverly Mercedes Place (Beverly Hills)

The JV also holds a majority stake in a portfolio including the 12 properties listed below (the minority interest in this group of assets will continue to be held by an affiliate of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation).

• 300 Park Avenue (NYC)
• CitySpire (NYC)
• Greenwich American Centre (Greenwich, CT)
• Bala Plaza (Bala Cynwyd -- suburban Philadelphia)
• Franklin Center - 227 W Monroe (Chicago)
• Franklin Center - 222 West Adams (Chicago)
• Plaza East I & II (Milwaukee)
• 520 Pike Tower (Seattle)
• One Bush Street (San Francisco)
• 595 Market Street (San Fran)
• Bayside Towers (Foster City, CA)
• 400 Castro St (Mountain View, CA)
• Lakeside Complex (Loudon County, VA)
• Maple Plaza (Beverly Hills)
• 407 North Maple Dr (Beverly Hills)
• Beverly Mercedes Place (Beverly Hills)

"This transaction marks the disposition by TSOF of its assets on terms that represent a successful outcome for all stakeholders," Tishman Speyer Co-CEOs Jerry Speyer and Rob Speyer said in a joint statement. "Looking forward, we are very excited about the formation of this joint venture and we’re pleased that our partner recognizes the value of this portfolio of premium properties and has joined us in making this significant investment."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tishman Takes Over 16 US Office Buildings

Tishman Speyer Properties announced that it would take over 16 office properties in the United States from its affiliated Australian REIT, Tishman Speyer Office Fund. According to a CoStar report, the fund owns 99.9% of four office buildings totaling 893,000 square feet and 45.9% ownership in another 12 totaling 7.46 million square feet. The Australian Fund agreed to sell the properties for $1.5 billion, plus an expected $48.5 million for transaction costs.

"The consequences of becoming a U.S. domestic reporting company are significant and burdensome, with consequential increases in costs to meet enhanced reporting and compliance obligations," the Australian company said.

The properties in the takeover include: 300 Park Ave. and CitySpire in New York; Greenwich American Centre in Greenwich, CT; Bala Plaza in Philadelphia; 227 West Monroe and 222 West Adams in Chicago; Plaza East I and II in Milwaukee; 520 Pike Tower in Seattle; One Bush Street and 595 Market Street in San Francisco; Bayside Towers in Foster City, CA; 400 Castro Street in Mountain View, CA; Lakeside in Northern Virginia; and Maples Plaza, 407 North Maple Drive and Beverly Mercedes Place in Beverly Hills, CA.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Duke Realty Sells Office Buildings for $44M

The Archon Group, a real estate investment arm of Goldman Sachs, has purchased a portfolio of six office properties in the Triangle for $43.95 million from Duke Realty. According to a Triangle Business Journal article Duke listed the portfolio, which includes 427,000 square feet of office space, in August of 2011. “These were still good assets, but ... we're happy about the buyer, and we know they'll take good care of the tenants,” said Jeff Sheehan, senior vice president in charge of Duke Realty's Raleigh operations.

The portfolio, buildings all built between 1986 and 2000, was 83% leased in August when it was first put on the market. The properties include 5540 Centerview Drive, 5565 Centerview Drive, 5520 Capital Center Drive, 801 Jones Franklin Road, 1616 Millbrook Road and one property in Cary located at 6501 Weston Parkway. The sale is reportedly part of the real estate investment trust's strategy of increasing its industrial and medical office portfolio while reducing the number of office assets it owns.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Goldman Sachs Buys VA Portfolio for $438M

Goldman Sachs Group was announced last week as the buyer of a nonbankrupt unit of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s stake in a ten office building portfolio in Virginia, paying Lehman a reported $438 million for its stake in the properties according to a Bloomberg report.

Separately, Lehman filed court papers on Monday announcing it had settled a lawsuit accusing Goldman of using pretextual excuses to avoid closing on the deal earlier in October. "This transaction is another example of our executing the sale strategy we laid out at the beginning of the year and has enabled us to achieve a strong result for our creditors," Jeff Fitts, who heads Lehman's real estate group, said in the statement.

Lehman Brothers filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history in September 2008, listing assets of $639 billion. Lehman's reported share of the investment in the portfolio that traded hands with Goldman was $206 million with its partners' share at $56.5 million.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Aviva Portfolio Sold for £36.5M

Aviva Investors has sold a portfolio of five offices to Knight Frank Investors for for £36.5 million according to a PropertyWeek.com article. The Pentagon Portfolio comprises 290,000 square feet of office space across five properties in Bracknell, Cegedim House in Chertsey, Pinnacle in Reading and Aquasulis in Slough.

Knight Frank Investors is an investment management business set up in April of this year and fully owned by Knight Frank LLP. Aviva Investors was represented by property consultants Strutt & Parker in the transaction while BNP Paribas Real Estate advised Knight Frank.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.