Jeff Johnson, former CIO and chairman of the investment committee for EOP, is taking the lead in the new company as managing principal, bringing together five former colleagues. Jointly between 2003 and 2007, the Reunion team completed more than $8.3 billion of dispositions and $4.2 billion of acquisitions.

"We have a unique opportunity to use our expertise as a value-oriented investor to help solve the needs of both owners and lenders in today's environment," Johnson says. "From 2002 through 2007, excessive liquidity caused prices to rise and transaction volume to increase -- with little regard to intrinsic value. All-cash values have fallen over 30 percent since the 2007 peak, causing an extraordinary amount of loan defaults, workouts, involuntary owners, and undercapitalized projects."

The new team includes Matthew Gworek, former SVP of asset and portfolio management; Sandra Deets, former SVP of due diligence; Megan McCann Kelleher, former co-head of dispositions and head of Southeast acquisitions; Michele Davis, former head of due diligence; and Brooke Kenevan; former attorney and member of the investment group.

Together they have more than 130 years of experience and have inked roughly $75 billion in office deals.

"Our group has outperformed in the U.S. commercial office market since 2003. We have no legacy issues, and we believe there is a real need for a value investor that focuses on knowledge and experience in the office sector," says Gworek, who now runs the investments and asset management portion of the company.

The group will be based out of Chicago, currently occupying space at Two North Riverside Plaza.