Cubist Pharmaceuticals Purchases Headquarters

LEXINGTON, MA-In a move that the company hopes will consolidate facilities and allow for growth, Cubist Pharmaceuticals purchased corporate headquarters here. The 88,000-sf facility cost $34 million.

“It’s a record-setting price for that area,” Grubb & Ellis’s Jack T. Kerrigan, who represented Cubist as a broker, tells Globest.com. “It is one of the most desirable suburban towns for office space.” The building is close to Routes 128 and 2 and is currently occupied by WR Grace, which is relocating to Cambridge.

“We have considered moving out to 128 for a while,” Jennifer LaVin, senior director of corporate communications for Cubist tells Globest.com. “Its cheaper now to move and buy a building than to continue leasing here.” Cubist occupies three buildings in Cambridge. LaVin would not disclose the company’s lease rates but asking prices there recently have been as high as $60 per sf.

Cubist was going to negotiate a 15-year lease at $3 million per year but realized it was cheaper to buy the building from its owner, Spaulding Slye Colliers, which represented themselves. To finance the purchase, Cubist is issuing $39 million in convertible notes to John Hancock Life Insurance Co. This financing covers the building purchase price and $5 million for leasehold improvements.