EQ Office
FormerlyEquity Office
Company typePrivately-held
Founded1976; 48 years ago (1976) (as Equity Office Properties)
FounderSam Zell
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois
Number of locations
80 offices
Key people
Alex Vouvalides,[1] CEO
Websitewww.eqoffice.com

EQ Office (originally Equity Office) is a real estate investment company that owns 80 office properties comprising 40 million square feet. The company is owned by funds managed by The Blackstone Group. The company was formerly known as Equity Office.

History

The company was founded in 1976 by Sam Zell.[2] In 1997, the company acquired Lakeside Square in North Dallas for $60 million.[3] In 2003, the company gained control of the San Francisco Ferry Building.[4]

In 2005, the company sold 5 buildings in San Francisco for $400 million.[5] The company also acquired a portfolio in California for $263 million.[citation needed] In 2006, the company acquired Pointe O'Hare I, an office building near O'Hare International Airport for $59 million[6] and a property in Boca 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 with Vornado Realty Trust, funds managed by The Blackstone Group completed the acquisition of the company for $39 billion and sold 8 buildings to affiliates of Harry Macklowe for $7 billion.[9] In April 2007, the company sold its portfolio in Washington, D.C. to Beacon Capital Partners for $6.5 billion.[10] Later in 2013, the company acquired the Hughes Center, an office and retail development in Las Vegas, for $347 million.[11]

In January 2014, the company sold 1-3 Center Plaza in Boston to Shorenstein Properties for $307 million.[12] In April 2014, the company sold 28 State Street for $345 million.[13] In December 2014, the company sold its portfolio in Silicon Valley to Hudson Pacific Properties for $3.5 billion.[14] In 2015, the company acquired the Willis Tower for $1.3 billion.[15]

In 2017, the company sold a property in San Jose, California for $82 million.[16] The company also sold a two-building medical office campus in San Diego, California for $97 million.[17] In June 2018, the company changed its name from Equity Office to EQ Office.[18]

Investments

Notable properties owned by the company are as follows:

References

  1. ^ "EQ Office Appoints Alex Vouvalides as Chief Executive Officer".
  2. ^ Jonas, Ilaina (January 19, 2007). "Blackstone to buy Equity Office". Reuters.
  3. ^ Garrison, Trey (October 26, 1997). "Equity Office set to close on Lakeside Square deal". American City Business Journals.
  4. ^ Ginsberg, Steve (January 12, 2003). "Divorce sends Ferry Building to Equity Office". American City Business Journals.
  5. ^ Wilson, Lizette (April 13, 2005). "Hines buys Equity Office' portfolio for $400M". American City Business Journals.
  6. ^ CORFMAN, THOMAS A. (February 22, 2006). "Equity Office buys Pointe O'Hare I building". Chicago Tribune.
  7. ^ Lunsford, Darcie (May 31, 2006). "Equity Office buys in Boca Raton, more may come". American City Business Journals.
  8. ^ "Equity Office buys parts of Miami office towers". American City Business Journals. October 5, 2006.
  9. ^ Pristin, Terry (February 10, 2007). "After Acquiring Equity Office, Blackstone Begins Selling It". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Natarajan, Prabha (April 11, 2007). "Blackstone completes sale of Equity Office's D.C. portfolio". American City Business Journals.
  11. ^ "Blackstone's Equity Office buys Hughes Center in Las Vegas". Reuters. September 23, 2013.
  12. ^ Grillo, Thomas (January 9, 2014). "Blackstone's Equity Office sells 1-3 Center Plaza for $307 million". American City Business Journals.
  13. ^ Grillo, Thomas (April 2, 2014). "Blackstone's Equity Office unloads 28 State St. for $345M". American City Business Journals.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Harris, Melissa (March 16, 2015). "Willis Tower to be sold for $1.3 billion to Blackstone Group". Chicago Tribune.
  16. ^ Bitters, Janice (May 19, 2017). "North San Jose office with long-term tech tenant sells for $82M". American City Business Journals.
  17. ^ Hirsh, Lou (September 10, 2017). "UTC Medical Office Campus Sold for $97M". American City Business Journals.
  18. ^ Lash, Herbert (June 20, 2018). "Equity Office embraces flexible workspace, adopts EQ Office name". Reuters.
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