Tishman Speyer Properties in New York is buying out its affiliated Australian REIT that has ownership in 16 office buildings across the United States in markets that include New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle.
The Sydney-based Tishman Speyer Office Fund owns 99.9% of four office buildings with a total 893,000 square feet, and it has 45.9% ownership in another 12 that enclose 7.46 million square feet.
On the receiving end of the deal, which values the properties at about $1.5 billion, is a joint venture between Tishman Speyer Properties and an undisclosed international pension fund.
The motivator for the exchange was that the Australian fund had enough shares, or units, held by U.S. residents that it was going to become a U.S.-regulated company.
