Two foreign investors have purchased a minority stake in the famous General Motors Building in New York for about $1.4 billion, according to several media reports.
The family of Zhang Xin, a prominent property developer of China and M. Safra and Co., an investment firm controlled by Branco Safra, a major Brazilian bank, have purchased 40 percent stake in the mid-town office building from a group of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, reports The Wall Street Journal.
News of the investors inking a deal had first come out sometime back in March. However, the buyers were just in talks with the sellers then and nothing was confirmed.
A consortium of wealth funds had purchased the building along with Boston Properties, a major commercial real estate firm, sometime back in 2008 for around $2.8 billion from owner Harry Macklowe.
Boston Properties still holds 60 percent stake in the building. Apparently, the company has no plans to divest its share. The new owners of the property will remain passive investors while Boston Properties will continue managing the building, reports the New York Times.
About The GM Building
The General Motors Building is a 705 feet, 50 floor office building located in Manhattan, new York City. The tower takes up a full block in the city and has an approximate rentable space of 1.7 million square feet. Sitting on an 84,350 square feet plot, the building was built and completed by General Motors in 1968.
The tower is currently home to elite tenants like the famous law firm, Weil Gotshal and Manges, and beauty products giant, Estee Lauder Co. The retail space includes stores of Apple Inc, which is the anchor tenant of the building, and FAO Schwarz. The office space has the highest rental charges in Manhattan. All the operations of the tower are controlled by Boston Properties.
Meanwhile, three buildings built by GM were recently recognized at the EPA's 2012 Energy Star National Building Competition for superior performance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Act.
This further highlights the importance of green buildings in the corporate world. Read more about Green Buildings here.
