DURHAM, N.C. — Affiliates of Philadelphia-based Rubenstein Partners and its partner Grubb Properties have sold the 485,000-square-foot Lenovo Enterprise Campus in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park for $127 million. The buyers were a joint venture between United Kingdom-based 90 North Real Estate Partners and Dubai-based Arzan Wealth.
The acquisition also included a nearly 40,000-square-foot building under construction that will serve as a research and development center for Lenovo. The site can accommodate an additional 100,000 square feet of development.
The transaction, brokered by Cushman & Wakefield, closed approximately 15 months after Rubenstein and Grubb’s acquisition of the then-vacant property, and less than a year after the partnership signed global PC manufacturer Lenovo to a long-term lease of the entire campus.
The corporate office campus sat vacant for several years before Rubenstein and Grubb bought it in December 2013 for approximately $26 million. Less than four months following the acquisition, Rubenstein and Grubb secured a long-term, triple-net lease with Lenovo, which Lenovo intended to use for its new Enterprise Division created as part of a $2.3 billion acquisition of IBM’s x86 server division.
“We’re extremely pleased to announce this sale as the conclusion to a very successful value-added office investment,” says David Rubenstein, founder and senior managing partner of Rubenstein Partners LP, a real estate investment manager based in Philadelphia.
“Despite the perceived risk of acquiring vacant suburban assets, there are ways to be successful in this segment. If you thoughtfully analyze the metro region, choose the right submarkets and properties, and position yourself to deliver value to tenants in the form of quality space for a compelling rental rate due to your acquisition basis, you can capture demand from major users and add tremendous value,” adds Rubenstein.
90 North opened its North American operations in Chicago last fall. Arzan Wealth, an investment advisory firm registered at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), acted as strategic advisors.
90 North and Arzan Wealth have a long-standing, strategic partnership that has acquired more than $500 million of assets around the world, acting as advisors to a consortium of UK and Middle East-based investors.
“This is a great acquisition for 90 North, one that really speaks to our commitment to investing in prime, trophy-caliber assets in North America,” says Daniel Cooper, partner and head of the firm’s North American operations. “The Lenovo Enterprise Campus has the stability and guarantee of a Fortune 500 company and the upside potential of the additional space being developed, and available to be developed, all within a prestigious research park environment.”
David Meline and Samir Idris of Cushman & Wakefield in Atlanta represented Rubenstein and Grubb Properties in the sale of the property with local support from Scot Humphrey and Chris Norvell of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer in Raleigh.
¬— Danielle Everson