Goodwin Procter attorneys advised Boston Properties on its announced agreement to sell a 45% interest in each of three properties – 601 Lexington Avenue (New York City), Atlantic Wharf Office Building (Boston), and 100 Federal Street (Boston) – to affiliates of Norges Bank Investment Management for an aggregate, gross purchase price of approximately $1.5 billion. Boston Properties and an affiliate of Norges Bank Investment Management will form a joint venture for each property upon closing, and Boston Properties will retain property and leasing management for the ventures. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close on or about October 31, 2014.
The properties in the transaction include:
- 601 Lexington Avenue – a 1.6 million square foot Class A office complex in Midtown Manhattan comprised of a 59-story tower and a six-story low rise office and retail building;
- Atlantic Wharf Office Building – a 31-story, 791,000 square foot Class A office tower on Boston’s waterfront with frontage on the Rose Kennedy Greenway and Boston Harbor; and
- 100 Federal Street – a 1.3 million square foot Class A office tower on a two-acre city block in Boston’s financial district.
Boston Properties, traded on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker “BXP,” is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that develops, redevelops, acquires, manages, operates and owns a portfolio of Class A office space, one hotel, three residential properties and five retail properties. Boston Properties is one of the largest owners and developers of Class A office properties in the United States and concentrates in the Boston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. markets. The company is based in Boston, Mass.
The Goodwin Procter team advising Boston Properties was led by partners James Broderick (RECM), Siobhan Murphy (RECM) and also included, David Patton, Rich Matheny and Dan Adams.
Goodwin Procter has advised Boston Properties on numerous transactions over the years, including the company’s 2013 joint venture with Hines for the development of what is now referred to as the SalesforceTower, a 1.4 million square foot office tower under development adjacent to the new Transbay Transit Center in downtown San Francisco.
Learn more about the sale by reading the Boston Properties press release announcing the transaction.