Rubenstein Partners Closes Acquisition with Equity Office
05 Februar 2007 - 7:49PM
PR Newswire (US)
Atlanta Central Perimeter Purchase Exceeds $500 Million
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Rubenstein Partners announced
today that an affiliate of Rubenstein Properties Fund, L.P. (the
"Fund") in partnership with Barry Real Estate Cos. ("Barry") has
acquired from Equity Office (NYSE:EOP), a portfolio of
approximately 3.0 million square feet of Class A office buildings
and properties located in Atlanta's Central Perimeter submarket.
The overall deal between the Fund and Equity Office included
approximately 3.5 million square feet of office buildings, and, as
part of the transaction, Rubenstein Partners negotiated and
executed the disposition of approximately 500,000 square feet to
two third-party buyers. The acquisition was made in partnership
with principals of Barry, a preeminent Atlanta development, leasing
and management firm, which has also been retained to manage and
lease the properties. The seller, Equity Office, operated in
concert with The Blackstone Group under the terms of their pending
merger agreement. The portfolio includes Class A office assets,
several redevelopment properties and two separate parcels that are
ground leased. The Class A office assets include The Terraces, a
premier one-million-square-foot office building project located
directly across from the Perimeter Mall, 7000 Central Park,
Sterling Pointe I & II and 64 and 66 Perimeter Center East.
These buildings are characterized by high-quality in-place tenants,
excellent amenities, and a history of attracting some of Atlanta's
most prominent corporate clients. The portfolio's re-development
opportunities include 41, 47, 53 and 56 Perimeter Center East, as
well as Lakeside Office Park, which has a total of approximately
400,000 square feet and sits on one of the best located land
parcels in Metro Atlanta. The Central Perimeter investment, which
is the Fund's first investment in Atlanta and second investment
since the Fund's closing, is consistent with Rubenstein Partners'
(the investment manager for the Fund) focus on large, complex
value-added office investments. The portfolio is currently 78%
leased, located in a recovering submarket, and given its size
offers the complexity and scale for Rubenstein to leverage its
platform. A key factor to the Fund's success in acquiring the
portfolio was Rubenstein Partners' and Barry's ability to
underwrite the purchase and to structure numerous complicated
transactions related to the acquisition efficiently. Between the
period of January 1, 2007 and February 1, 2007, Rubenstein Partners
and Barry were able to underwrite the acquisition; negotiate and
execute the purchase contract for the portfolio; structure and
obtain third-party financing; structure and execute a joint
venture; negotiate and execute the sale of 245 Perimeter Center to
Novare Development Group and negotiate and execute the sale of 9000
Central Park to a joint venture of Ackerman & Co. and AEW
Capital Management, L.P. "The acquisition of this portfolio fits
squarely within our stated strategy to purchase assets ready for
re-development in high growth markets," said David Rubenstein,
senior managing principal of Rubenstein Partners. "We are pleased
that we were able to secure this opportunity, based largely on the
fact that we were able to evaluate and execute more quickly than
our competitors. Our people, in concert with our partners at Barry,
were willing to put in the time and effort that resulted in our
being the only prospective purchaser able to close within the
seller's desired schedule and meet all of their requirements. The
Barry Company is a very talented group of professionals, who I
believe will ultimately grow the company to be one of the
Southeast's top developers," Rubenstein added. Brian Lipson,
managing principal of Rubenstein Partners, remarked, "The ability
to secure and close a deal of this complexity within such a short
period of time is precisely why I joined forces with David and the
rest of the Rubenstein Partners team." Lipson further commented
that, "This portfolio presents an exciting spectrum of
opportunities to capitalize on the recent urbanization of the
Central Perimeter market. One-half of the portfolio consists of
very well located, high-quality Class A properties and the balance
offers significant redevelopment options for new commercial,
residential, retail and hospitality properties. We are fortunate
that our relationships with Equity Office, Blackstone, CB Richard
Ellis and the Barry organization combined with our capability to
manage and develop office and mixed-use properties, regardless of
scale or complexity, positioned us to capture this large scale
investment for the Fund." About Rubenstein Partners Rubenstein
Partners, founded in September 2005, is a private real estate
investment management and advisory firm with operations throughout
the Eastern United States. The firm is led by David Rubenstein and
a select group of former senior real estate executives from The
Rubenstein Company, L.P., and is focused on directing and managing
value-added office real estate investments, primarily in the
Eastern Time Zone of the United States. The firm is also a member
of the Independence Capital Partners family of private equity
funds, which provides the Fund with additional access to the office
components of both mixed use and distressed asset projects as well
as the ability to participate in mezzanine financing throughout the
United States (http://www.rubensteinpartners.com/). About Barry
Real Estate Cos. Founded in 1995 by Hal Barry and Chris Schoen,
Barry Real Estate Cos. is a full-service commercial real estate
firm specializing in office, hotel and mixed-use development,
marketing and management, with a primary emphasis on the Southeast.
Barry Real Estate Cos. has been responsible for the development and
renovation of over 4 million RSF of office space, with major
tenants including General Electric Company, Nike, Ernst &
Young, Fortis, EarthLink, The Travelers Insurance Company, Toyota
Motor Credit Corp., Nortel Networks, The Hartford, Bradley, Arant,
Rose & White, Cingular Wireless, Lafarge North America and
Transamerica. Barry Real Estate Cos. also recently completed the
development of the new Southern Co. headquarters at Allen Plaza in
downtown Atlanta. Barry Real Estate Cos. has established a niche in
the constantly changing real estate marketplace by operating under
a tenant-driven development and service-oriented strategy.
http://www.barrycompanies.com/ DATASOURCE: Rubenstein Partners
CONTACT: Michael O'Callaghan of Rubenstein Partners,
+1-215-399-4572, Web site: http://www.rubensteinpartners.com/
http://www.barrycompanies.com/
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