Ivanhoe Cambridge, a famous property managing firm, is reportedly in talks to buy 49 percent stake in the 1211 Avenue of the Americas building, which is popularly known as the News Corp. Building in Manhattan, New York.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ivanhoe Cambridge is joining forces with Callahan Capital Partners to purchase the stake, which values the building at $1.7 billion. The new partnership is buying the stake from owners, Beacon Capital Partners LLC, who purchased the tower in 2006 for around $1.5 billion.
Beacon Capital had initially listed the building for sale in mid-2011. However, it took the listing off due to mounting global financial crisis, especially in the European region.
The deal has not been officially announced and, therefore, not much details about the transaction are known. However, this is not the first commercial property deal for Ivanhoe. More recently it purchased the Wells Fargo Center, a 47-floor office tower in Seattle for $390 million.
About 1211 Avenue of Americas
The 1211 Avenue of Americas is a 45 floor international style skyscraper gracing the commercial skyline of central Manhattan in New York. Designed by Wallace Harrison of Harrison, Abramovitz & Harris, the building was developed by the Rockefeller Group Development Corporation and completed in 1973. It is popularly called the News Corp. building as it houses the New York office of the "Wall Street Journal" and its parent company, News Corp. owned by Rupert Murdoch.
While News Corp. will probably retain its tenancy in the building, its subsidiary, News International is looking to move its U.K. Premises from Wapping to central London, to the "Baby Shard" building.
This is the latest property to be trading stakes in the Manhattan commercial property market. Of late, the sector has seen a steady acceleration in values and transactions like General Growth Properties buying stakes in 650 Madison Avenue and RXR Realty investing $660 million in the famed One Worldwide Plaza.
