Press
Rubenstein Partners Closes Acquisition with Equity Office - February 5, 2007
Atlanta Central Perimeter Purchase Exceeds $500 Million
Philadelphia: February 5, 2007 — 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 redevelopment 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."
Rubenstein Partners Closes First Office Fund of $475 Million - May 23, 2006
Fund Exceeds Initial Target of $400 Million
Will Invest in Value-Added Office Properties
Rubenstein Partners, a private equity firm providing leading real estate investment management and advisory services in office markets throughout the Eastern United States, today announced the final closing of its initial value-added office real estate fund, Rubenstein Properties Fund, L.P.
The first-time fund of $475 million in committed equity exceeded its initial target of $400 million.
The Fund will focus on value-added office investments, primarily in the Eastern United States. It also has the mandate to invest throughout the entire United States for certain select opportunities in conjunction with sister Independence Capital Partners funds. These select opportunities are intended to include investments in mixed-use complexes, mezzanine debt, and corporate headquarters buildings.
The Fund’s investors are primarily educational endowments, but also include a select group of corporate pension funds and high net worth individuals. The Fund’s Sponsors, David B. Rubenstein, Dean Adler and Ira Lubert, and the senior management of Rubenstein Partners, have committed approximately $25 million of capital to the Fund.
“We are pleased that we were able to attract such an exceptional group of investors and to exceed our funding target, in what is our first foray into the private real estate equity markets,” said David Rubenstein, senior managing principal of Rubenstein Partners, who will manage the Fund. “The quality of our investors and the success we have enjoyed in raising our first fund is a direct reflection of the high regard with which the industry holds the management team. In addition, Rubenstein Partners’ association with the Independence Capital Partners family of funds and our partnership with Dean Adler and Ira Lubert, in specific, were key factors in reaching our goals.”
Rubenstein previously served as the president and CEO of The Rubenstein Company, L.P., an organization (including its predecessors) with a 35-year history, which at one time was one of the largest privately held real estate investment, development and management companies in the Mid-Atlantic, holding in excess of $1 billion in Class-A office assets.
Due, in part, to the experience of Rubenstein Partners’ principals, particular focus will be given to larger or more complicated transactions, specifically those requiring development or redevelopment or complex recapitalization which are part of its value-added strategy. The Fund will give considered attention to assets located in Central Business Districts and surrounding suburban markets. The Fund will seek to execute its value-added strategies throughout the entire Eastern Time Zone, but will focus primarily in the following markets: Boston, Central/Northern New Jersey, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore, Suburban Maryland, Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Atlanta and Southeast Florida.
