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MetLife and Norwegian Pension Fund Team Up for D.C. Building


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MetLife and Norwegian Pension Fund Team Up for D.C. Building

Business

Category: Financial / Investment

Norges is the fund manager for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, which reported about $810 billion in assets at the close of the third quarter of 2013.

The sale on the property — assessed at $579.8 million, according D.C.’s Office of Tax and Revenue — closed Wednesday morning, according to sources.

Manulife spokeswoman Beverley MacLean confirmed the sale but declined to comment further. Representatives from Norges could not be reached for comment. Eastdil Secured declined comment.

The deal is an interesting play for the joint venture partners, each of which owns other properties in the District, because of the building’s near-term fate. Arnold & Porter LLP, its anchor tenant, is planning to relocate from the 781,963-square-foot building in October 2015 to a new one being developed at 635 Massachusetts Ave. NW.

MetLife and the Norwegian fund are signaling confidence in the long-term outlook for D.C.’s office market by acquiring a building with that big a lease exposure. The acquisition is the second for MetLife and Norges, which announced plans in mid-December to “invest collectively in Class A office properties in key U.S. markets over an extended period.” In the announcement, MetLife and Norges also said they formed a joint venture to invest in Boston’s One Financial Center.

Source: Washington Business Journal

Published: September 1, 2014