Real Estate Headlines
- 22 Government-Leased Offices Up for Grabs*A portfolio of office buildings occupied by the federal government has hit the market, with bids expected to top $600 million. The 2.2 million-square-foot package represents the entire U.S. holdings of Record Realty, an Australian REIT controlled by Allco Finance of Sydney
- Allianz Buying 50% Stake in Boston Trophy*German insurer Allianz has agreed to buy a 50 stake in the office building at One Beacon Street in Boston from Beacon Capital Partners via a transaction that values the trophy property at $508 million.
- Barrack Amassing Cash for Bottom Fishing*Veteran investor Thomas Barrack, who made a fortune in the early 1990s by scooping up distressed assets at fire-sale prices, is getting ready to call the bottom of the current downturn. Barrack's Colony Capital is quietly lining up equity in order to start buying distressed debt and property companies around midyear, when he expects the value of such assets to be near their low point, according to people familiar with the situation.
- Beacon Writedowns Show Depth of Slump*Markdowns by two Beacon Capital Partners funds may provide the best indication to date of how far Class-A office values have fallen. The $2 billion Beacon Capital Strategic Partners 4 fund, which acquired most of its properties in 2006, took a 36.9 writedown last year, according to investors.
- Blackstone Tees Up Suburban Boston Offices*Blackstone Group is preparing to shop some of the suburban Boston office buildings it assumed last February via its $39 billion takeover of Equity Office Properties.
