The skyline of midtown Manhattan is seen in this file photo.Gary Hershorn/Reuters
Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate arm of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, is boosting its presence in the New York City market with an $850-million (U.S.) deal to buy a majority stake in a 45-storey office tower on the city's "Corporate Row."
Ivanhoé said on Tuesday it has bought a 51 per cent managing member interest in 1211 Avenue of the Americas from an affiliate of Beacon Capital Partners LLC.
The building is a Class A trophy asset, located between 47th and 48th streets, adjacent to iconic Rockefeller Center on a strip known as "Corporate Row."
The transaction is the latest in Ivanhoé's U.S. forays.
In April, it joined a partnership to buy a portfolio of 27 residential properties valued at about $1.5-billion.
In Manhattan alone, the company has invested more than $3-billion in the office and multiresidential sectors, including 1211 Avenue of the Americas.
"This investment exemplifies one of the priorities set out in our strategic plan: to build our office building portfolio in the United States by growing a critical mass of assets in key markets such as New York City," Ivanhoe Cambridge global investments president Bill Tresham said in a news release.
To better focus on residential units, office buildings and shopping centres, Ivanhoe Cambridge has been getting out of other areas, notably hotels.
The 1211 Avenue of the Americas deal is Ivanhoé Cambridge's third acquisition in a partnership with Callahan Capital Properties.
Among tenants in the tower are News America Inc., a subsidiary of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.; Ropes and Gray LLP and Axis Reinsurance.
Bertrand Marotte