Developer eyes Anbang hotels; Equity Residential pays $185M for Boston asset
Author: Joyce Guevarra
* Las Vegas property developer Charles Everhardt & Lockwood Development Partners and a group of hotel franchisees have expressed interest in acquiring a portfolio of 15 hotels from China's Anbang Insurance Group Co. Ltd., according to New York Post.
Citing the developer, the publication said Anbang is seeking a bid based on the rate of return on hotel income of the properties, which were acquired in 2016 from Blackstone Group LP for US$5.5 billion. It is unclear which of Anbang's 18 U.S. hotels make up the portfolio, although the Waldorf Astoria in New York is not expected to be included in the sale.
Franchisees of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., Marriott International Inc., Four Seasons and InterContinental Hotels Group PLC are part of the bidding group, the publication added, citing Everhardt.
* Equity Residential bought a $185 million apartment property jointly developed by Gerding Edlen and Normandy Real Estate Partners in Boston, the Boston Business Journal reported. The Troy Boston complex at 55 Traveler St. contains 378 units across two buildings.
* TPA Group acquired the Buckhead Tower in Atlanta for $96.5 million from Parmenter Realty Partners, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported, citing property records. The Atlanta-based real estate company made the acquisition through an affiliate in a deal finalized Aug. 15. The 19-story office building sits at 3399 Peachtree Road by Lenox Square mall, and its tenants include Networx Systems.
* Boston-based private equity firm Cabot Properties raised $490 million in the first close of its latest U.S. core industrial real estate fund, PERE News reported. The Cabot Industrial Core Fund II will acquire class A distribution buildings in 12 U.S. core industrial markets and will have a net return target of 8% to 10%.
* About 70% of Chicago's office space is certified for environmental efficiency, making it the greenest city to work in of the 30 major U.S. real estate markets that are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or Energy Star certified that were tracked in a study by CBRE Group Inc. and Maastricht University, Bloomberg News reported. The percentage for Chicago is up year over year from roughly 66%.
The news outlet noted that a record 41% of the total office space square footage in the 30 markets are now LEED or Energy Star certified.
* Los Angeles-based developer Luzzato Co. is buying the 12-building Austin Oaks office campus in Austin, Texas, for an undisclosed amount, Costar reported. The 32-acre site at MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) and Spicewood Springs Road was valued at $87.4 million in 2017. Alden Global Distressed Opportunities Fund is the seller.
* San Francisco-based software company Salesforce is negotiating a possible more than 500,000-square-foot lease at Hines' Wolf Point project in Chicago, Chicago Tribune reported, citing sources familiar with the talks. The sources said Salesforce could take up space at the development's planned third and final tower that is zoned for a height of 950 feet and could span roughly 1.2 million square feet of office space.
Citing the sources, the publication added that the company is also eyeing Friedman Properties' planned 29-story office building at 444 N. Dearborn St.
* A labor strike has put a pause on the construction of certain Amazon-leased buildings in downtown Seattle, the Puget Business Journal reported. The strike, stemming from pay issues, is King County-wide, the publication said, citing a Sellen Construction worker near the 37-story Amazon tower site at Westlake Avenue and Lenora Street.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a mixed opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 0.49% to 27,790.46, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.22% to 22,410.82.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.02% to 7,575.50, and the Euronext 100 rose 0.20% to 1,065.65.
On the macro front
The jobless claims report, the FHFA House Price index, the PMI Composite FLASH, the new home sales report, the EIA natural gas report, the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing index, the fed balance sheet and the money supply report are due out today.
Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.
Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence
Data Dispatch: US REIT capital-raising activity ticks slightly upward in first half of August: Chart Watch: U.S. equity REITs raised $2.20 billion through capital offerings during the first two weeks of the month, a 15.4% increase from the $1.90 billion raised during the entire month of July.
The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. ET. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.