ASHBURN, VA—Word on the street has been that Verizon has been looking to sell its enterprise assets.

Now we have heard from a source that Verizon has sold its campus in Ashburn, VA, for $212.5 million, or $118 per square foot, in a sale lease back transaction. The buyer is a JV between American Real Estate Partners and a hedge fund, Davidson Kempner Capital Management.

American Real Estate Partners confirmed the basic transaction to GlobeSt.com and said it was getting ready to announce it. We were unable to confirm the purchase price or its partner with it. We were also unable to contact Davidson Kempner.

The campus, located at 22001 Loudoun Pkwy., consists of twelve buildings in which some 4,000 employees work. It was originally developed to be the headquarters of the once reigning Internet Service Provider UUNET. That company was acquired in 1996 by the company that would eventually become MCI. Verizon acquired MCI in 2005 and moved into the complex.

American Real Estate Partners, which is based in New York City but has a local office in Northern Virginia, has made a handful of acquisitions in the Northern Virginia markets over the years, the most recent this past February when it acquired in back to back transactions Reston International Center for $35 million and Canal Center, in Alexandria, VA, for $176 million.

*UPDATE FRIDAY MORNING: The deal is being announced by CBRE this morning and it confirms the transaction details. CBRE's Michael Blunt, Randall Heilig, Olesya Puente, Russell Ingrum, Matt Hargrove and Mike Shellow advised Verizon in the transaction.

CBRE also says that Verizon has leased-back 1,518,365 rentable square feet for one year, but will retain more than one million square feet for an additional 11 years.