EQ Office is areal estate investmentcompany that owns 80office properties comprising 40 million square feet. The company is owned by and funds managed byThe Blackstone Group. The company was formerly known asEquity Office.
 | |
| Formerly | Equity Office |
|---|---|
| Company type | Privately-held |
| Founded | 1976; 49 years ago (1976) (as Equity Office Properties) |
| Founder | Sam Zell |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
Key people | Alex Vouvalides,[1] CEO |
| Website | www |
History
editThe company was founded in 1976 bySam Zell.[2] In 1997, the company acquired Lakeside Square in North Dallas for $60 million.[3] In 2003, the company gained control of theSan Francisco Ferry Building.[4]
In 2005, the company sold 5 buildings in San Francisco for $400 million.[5] The company also acquired a portfolio inCalifornia for $263 million.[citation needed] In 2006, the company acquired Pointe O'Hare I, an office building nearO'Hare International Airport for $59 million[6] and a property inBoca Raton, Florida for $29.5 million.[7] The company also acquired half-interest in two Miami office buildings for $249.8 million.[8]
In February 2007, after a bidding war withVornado Realty Trust, funds managed byThe Blackstone Group completed the acquisition of the company for $39 billion and sold 8 buildings to affiliates ofHarry Macklowe for $7 billion.[9] In April 2007, the company sold its portfolio inWashington, D.C. toBeacon Capital Partners for $6.5 billion.[10] Later in 2013, the company acquired the Hughes Center, an office and retail development inLas Vegas, for $347 million.[11]
In January 2014, the company sold 1-3 Center Plaza in Boston toShorenstein Properties for $307 million.[12] In April 2014, the company sold28 State Street for $345 million.[13] In December 2014, the company sold its portfolio inSilicon Valley toHudson Pacific Properties for $3.5 billion.[14] In 2015, the company acquired theWillis Tower for $1.3 billion.[15]
In 2017, the company sold a property inSan Jose, California for $82 million.[16] The company also sold a two-building medical office campus inSan Diego, California for $97 million.[17] In June 2018, the company changed its name from Equity Office to EQ Office.[18] In 2019, the company purchased Seattle office buildingsU.S. Bank Center andDocusign Tower for $1.2 billion.[19]
Investments
editNotable properties owned by the company are as follows:
References
edit- ^"EQ Office Appoints Alex Vouvalides as Chief Executive Officer".
- ^Jonas, Ilaina (January 19, 2007)."Blackstone to buy Equity Office".Reuters.
- ^Garrison, Trey (October 26, 1997)."Equity Office set to close on Lakeside Square deal".American City Business Journals.
- ^Ginsberg, Steve (January 12, 2003)."Divorce sends Ferry Building to Equity Office".American City Business Journals.
- ^Wilson, Lizette (April 13, 2005)."Hines buys Equity Office' portfolio for $400M".American City Business Journals.
- ^CORFMAN, THOMAS A. (February 22, 2006)."Equity Office buys Pointe O'Hare I building".Chicago Tribune.
- ^Lunsford, Darcie (May 31, 2006)."Equity Office buys in Boca Raton, more may come".American City Business Journals.
- ^"Equity Office buys parts of Miami office towers".American City Business Journals. October 5, 2006.
- ^Pristin, Terry (February 10, 2007)."After Acquiring Equity Office, Blackstone Begins Selling It".The New York Times.
- ^Natarajan, Prabha (April 11, 2007)."Blackstone completes sale of Equity Office's D.C. portfolio".American City Business Journals.
- ^"Blackstone's Equity Office buys Hughes Center in Las Vegas".Reuters. September 23, 2013.
- ^Grillo, Thomas (January 9, 2014)."Blackstone's Equity Office sells 1-3 Center Plaza for $307 million".American City Business Journals.
- ^Grillo, Thomas (April 2, 2014)."Blackstone's Equity Office unloads 28 State St. for $345M".American City Business Journals.
- ^Donato-Weinstein, Nathan (December 7, 2014)."Blackstone to sell Equity Office Silicon Valley portfolio to Hudson Pacific for $3.5 billion".American City Business Journals.
- ^Harris, Melissa (March 16, 2015)."Willis Tower to be sold for $1.3 billion to Blackstone Group".Chicago Tribune.
- ^Bitters, Janice (May 19, 2017)."North San Jose office with long-term tech tenant sells for $82M".American City Business Journals.
- ^Hirsh, Lou (September 10, 2017)."UTC Medical Office Campus Sold for $97M".American City Business Journals.
- ^Lash, Herbert (June 20, 2018)."Equity Office embraces flexible workspace, adopts EQ Office name".Reuters.
- ^Miller, Brian (July 1, 2019)."EQ Office buys 2 downtown Seattle high-rises for $1.2B".Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. RetrievedSeptember 1, 2023.