NEW YORK CITY-A partnership of the families of Chinese developer Zhang Xin and the Safra banking empire of Brazil has taken a 40% stake in the General Motors Building at 767 Fifth Ave, says CBRE Group Inc., whose vice chairmen Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan arranged the deal. CBRE did not disclose the value of the transaction; Bloomberg reported that the iconic two-million-square-foot office tower has been valued at $3.4 billion, the highest total value for a US property since the building traded in 2008, making the sale to Sungate Trust and M. Safra & Co. worth approximately $1.4 billion.
The sellers were Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s US Real Estate Opportunities Fund, which invests on behalf of sovereign wealth funds of Kuwait and Qatar, and private equity firm Meraas Capital LLC, based in Dubai. Goldman Sachs advised the USREO, while CBRE Global Investors advised Meraas.
“This landmark sale signals a return to the billion-dollar-plus level for an individual investment transaction, and is recognition of the value for elite trophy assets by the most sophisticated global investors,” Stacom says in a release. She adds that the sale underscores both the GM tower's “universal appeal” as one of the world's premier commercial assets and New York City's “undiminished value” as the primary location for trophy properties.
Boston Properties acquired a 60% stake in the 45-year-old Plaza District icon as part of a $3.95-billion deal with Macklowe Properties five years ago. The Boston-based office REIT retains its controlling stake in the 50-story 767 Fifth and continues to manage the property.
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