Allianz, Manulife JV on US Real Estate

NEW YORK CITY—Add Allianz to the list of financial firms making cross-border inroads into US real estate via joint ventures. The US arm of Allianz Real Estate, based here, has forged a partnership with Toronto-based Manulife to co-invest up to $1 billion in commercial properties.

As part of the JV, John Hancock Real Estate, the Boston-based US real estate unit of Manulife Asset Management Private Markets, has sold Allianz majority interests in two of office properties:  the 469,261-square-foot 1100 New York Ave. in Washington, DC; and 191 N. Wacker Dr., which encompasses 733,757 square feet in Chicago. Deal terms were not disclosed.

Manulife will maintain a partial interest and continue to manage both assets through its vertically integrated platform. The two companies will continue to seek additional class A office assets throughout the US.

Chief executives at both companies cite the similarities in their real estate investing goals. Christoph Donner, who joined Allianz Real Estate of America as CEO in August, sees Manulife as “a like-minded, best-in-class real estate investor. Allianz has ambitious goals to continue to expand its real estate presence in the US, and we are pleased to do so with 1100 New York Avenue and 191 North Wacker Drive, two buildings that represent the type of high quality assets in which we seek to invest.”

Kevin Adolphe, president and CEO of Manulife Asset Management Private Markets, says, “This partnership reflects how our experienced teams work with investors to provide unique opportunities to meet their investment goals. We look forward to growing our relationship with Allianz in the years to come.”

Already, Allianz Real Estate of America has a portfolio of some $8 billion in commercial mortgage loans and equity commitments. For its part, John Hancock Real Estate has a portfolio worth about $10.4 billion and totaling 40 million square feet across the US, Canada and Asia.

Munich-based Allianz, Europe's largest insurer, joins a number of other major overseas players entering US real estate ventures. Norges Bank Investment Management, an entity of Norway's sovereign wealth fund, and MetLife have already amassed a portfolio of $2.4 billion in US office properties. Earlier this month, AustralianSuper Pty, the country's largest pension fund, said it had tapped Des Moines-based Principal Real Estate Investors to be its investment advisor for its US office strategy.

AustralianSuper's mandate will focus on large, high-quality office investments in major US markets, including New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Investments will be made either directly or through JVs in properties of US $200 million or greater.

“We've been tracking the US market for an extended period of time and we see good long-term opportunities in select markets to continue to build our international property portfolio,” Jack McGougan, head of property at AustralianSuper, said earlier this month. AustralianSuper currently manages US $5.2 billion in real estate holdings as part of more than US $70 billion in funds under management.