Joint Venture Buys Aventis Operations Building

PARSIPPANY, NJ-Lexington Corporate Properties Trust, New York, hasteamed with an unnamed institutional investor to acquire 399 InterpaceParkway, the 340,240-sf, two-building office property that serves as thetemporary North American commercial operations headqaurters for AventisPharmaceuticals. Aventis Pharma Holdings GmbH wholly owns Aventis, which has a net lease in place for the building through January 31, 2010. The company is the result of the merger between Hoechst A.G. and Rhone-Poulenc.

Aventis’ North American headquarters and global drug development operations arebased in Bridgewater, NJ, about 30 miles to the south of here. Thecompany’s plans for the Parsippany location haven’t been disclosed,pending completion of its merger-related reconfiguration. But Aventis isexpected to maintain a portion of its operations at the location atleast through the 2010 date.

Lexington and its institutional partner spent $81 million for theproperty, $53 million of which was financed. The seller was not named. Thepartnership, which was formed to invest in single-tenant, net-leasedoffice and industrial properties, has now invested some $270 million outof a total anticipated war chest of $420 million.