PW/MS was formed in 1997 to buy the so-called Bellemead Portfolio from the Warren, NJ-based Chubb Insurance Corp. At the time, Chubb shed some of its insurance units, as well as most of the property holdings of Bellemead Development Corp., its real estate development arm. The Bellemead real estate portfolio by itself fetched Chubb a reported $737 million.

"This successful transaction once again highlights the achievements that can result from the synergy created through the cooperative efforts of The Gale Co. and its partners," says Stan Gale, president and chief executive officer of the company that bears his name.

"I am extremely grateful to the team of professionals at The Gale Co., as well as at UBS Paine Webber and Morgan Stanley," Gale continues. "All of them played an instrumental role in the success of this complex transaction."

For the record, the three partners involved in the refinanced portfolio are Gale, UBS/Paine Webber and Morgan Stanley's MSREF Investment Fund. For its part, Gale maintains a portfolio of more than 45 million sf of real estate properties, most of it office space. Its target domestic markets are the New Jersey/New York metro area, Boston and California, and globally it has interests in the United Kingdom and in South Korea.

Besides its partnerships with UBS and Morgan Stanley, it maintains joint venture investment relationships with J.P. Morgan and Praedium Fund. It also maintains client relationships with companies like Pharmacia, GlaxoSmithKline, UPS, General Motors and Siemens, among others.