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ESCONDIDO, CALIF. — Realty Income Corp. (NYSE: O) has signed an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of American Realty Capital Trust (NASDAQ: ARCT), an owner and operator of single-tenant commercial properties, for $2.95 billion. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012 or in the first quarter of 2013. Realty Income will acquire 501 properties, bringing its total portfolio to more than 3,250 properties. Approximately 75 percent of the rental revenue at the properties stems from investment-grade tenants, including FedEx, Walgreens, CVS/pharmacy, the Government Services Administration, Dollar General, Express Scripts, PNC Bank and Whirlpool. “This acquisition comprehensively advances Realty Income’s strategic objectives of increasing its revenue generated by investment-grade tenants and further diversifying its portfolio outside of the retail industry,” says Tom Lewis, CEO of Escondido-based Realty Income. The acquisition will be financed by the buyer directly issuing $1.9 billion of its common stock to ARCT shareholders, the assumption of $526 million of debt and the immediate repayment of approximately $574 million of outstanding debt and transaction expenses. “This transaction will institutionalize the notion of durable, defensive dividends for our shareholders by allowing them to become owners on a very favorable basis of …

WALNUT CREEK, CALIF. — A joint venture between Equity Office Properties and Blackstone (NYSE: BX) has sold Treat Towers, two Class A office buildings located at 1255 and 1277 Treat Blvd. in Walnut Creek, for $118.5 million. MetLife (NYSE: MET) was the buyer. The LEED Gold certified buildings, which total 378,749 square feet, are 85 percent leased. Tenants include Paradigm Management Services, HQ Global Workplaces, Environmental Resources Management and Littler Mendelson. Amenities include a fitness center, conference center with a training room and board room, an ATM, banking facilities and a full service café. “Treat Towers is an irreplaceable asset of the highest quality in the East Bay, providing above standard construction and building amenities in one of the nation’s premier core office markets,” says Steven Golubchik, managing director of HFF. “The property offers its tenants a landmark location, providing ease of accessibility to the entire San Francisco Bay Area.” Golubchik, along with John Pelusi, Michael Leggett and Gerry Rohm of HFF, represented the seller in the transaction. Blackstone’s stock price closed at $13.18 per share on Sept. 5, up from $12.04 per share a year earlier. MetLife’s stock price closed at $34.01 per share, up from $28.87 per share …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 178,000-square-foot Carroll Square, a Class A office property located at 975 F St. in Washington, D.C.’s East End submarket, has traded for $121.4 million in a leasehold sale. The buyer, GLL Partners, purchased Carroll Square and assumed an existing loan on the property. GLL Partners is an institutional real estate investment advisory firm based in Munich, Germany. The seller was Seaton Benkowski & Partners, a boutique real estate advisory firm based in Washington, D.C. Seaton Benkowski & Partners partnered with Washington, D.C.-based Akridge for the development, leasing and management of Carroll Square. The 10-story office property is comprised of new construction and seven late 19th century commercial townhomes. The development includes a small public art gallery, three rooftop terraces and a pocket park located near St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on the north side of the property. The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. has a ground lease on the property through 2102 and the rest of the office space is fully leased to tenants such as Seyfarth Shaw, Holland & Hart and Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto, all law firms. Retail tenants include Le Pain Quotidien, Leica Camera and Coco Sala. Carroll Square is in close proximity to …

MINNEAPOLIS — A joint venture partnership between Equity Group Investments (EGI), GEM Realty Capital and Perennial Investments and Advisors has purchased the 1.7 million-square-foot Normandale Lake Office Park, a Class A office campus located in Bloomington, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis. Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq provides leasing and management services for the property. “The complex is home to leading companies because it gives them an advantage in attracting and retaining top talent,” says Tom Tracy, executive director of brokerage services for Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq. “Many of our largest tenants have been here for more than 20 years.” The property is 84 percent leased. Tenants include Prime Therapeutics, Aon Benfield, Schwan’s, Towers Watson, Weber Shandwick, Emerson Corp. and Oracle Corp. The first of the five buildings was constructed in 1983, and the last building was completed in 2009. A skyway connects the buildings. Park amenities include two first-class restaurants, three delis, a Caribou coffee shop, salon, child care center, convenience store, two fitness facilities, conference facilities and five parking garages. “Normandale is the premier office environment in the Minneapolis market,” says David Helfand, co-president of EGI. “The complex has a long track record of successfully serving the needs of the area’s most …

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. — Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II has purchased the 13-building Pacific Northwest Senior Care Portfolio and seven medical office buildings for $103 million. American Healthcare Investors and Griffin Capital Corp. co-sponsor Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II. “We seek to acquire properties that provide multiple levels of diversification to Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II,” says Danny Prosky, principal of American Healthcare Investors and president and COO of the REIT. “These latest acquisitions are a good example of this. They add geographic and asset diversification to an already substantial nationwide portfolio of healthcare-related properties.” The Pacific Northwest Senior Care Portfolio includes eight skilled nursing facilities and five assisted living facilities totaling approximately 369,000 square feet in Washington and Oregon. Regency Pacific Management has a master lease for the portfolio through 2025. Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II acquired the portfolio from Regency Pacific-affiliated entities. Don Ambrose and Chris Urban of Ambrose Capital Group represented the seller of the portfolio in the transaction. The REIT financed the purchase with $45 million in borrowings under its unsecured line of credit with Bank of America and used cash on hand for the remaining sum. The medical office buildings total 199,000 square feet. The properties include: – The …

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — HFF has arranged $200 million in refinancing for the 1.1 million-square-foot Newport Tower, a Class A office tower located at 525 Washington Blvd. in Jersey City. The 36-story building is LEED Gold certified. Amenities include a full-service cafe, sundry shop, deli, on-site banking, covered parking and a direct connection via a skywalk to the 1.2 million-square-foot Newport Centre Mall. The property is 90 percent leased to tenants, which include AXA, BNP Paribas, Brown Brothers Harriman, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Computershare. Cary Abod, Whit Wilcox, Mike Tepedino and Tom Didio of HFF secured the seven-year, 3.5 percent fixed-rate loan through Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. on behalf of the borrower, MEPT Newport Tower, a subsidiary of Multi-Employer Property Trust (MEPT). Bentall Kennedy serves as real estate advisor to MEPT. The company acquired Newport Tower in October 2011 from Brookfield Office Properties for $377.5 million. MEPT is an open-end commingled real estate equity fund with more than $5.56 billion in net assets nationwide. Bentall Kennedy has represented more than 55 clients on office, retail, industrial, multifamily and hospitality assets totaling $27 billion in the U.S. — Savannah Duncan

BRIDGEPORT, N.J. — Hillwood Investment Properties, a Perot company based in Dallas, has acquired a 597,232-square-foot warehouse and distribution building in Bridgeport. The acquisition was made in partnership with Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM). Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors of Hartford, Conn., was the seller. The building at 200 Birch Creek Road is situated in the Pureland Industrial Park near Exit 10 on Interstate 295. I-295 is southern New Jersey's primary North/South Highway, providing access to the entire Northeastern distribution corridor. Emory Hill Development constructed the property in 1991 for Becton Dickenson & Co., a current tenant whose lease expires in 2013. The medical device maker will be consolidating its East Coast operations into another market. The Bridgeport facility features 42-foot by 42-foot column spacing, 25-foot clear ceiling heights and two drive-in doors. Michael Hines, Robert Fahey, Michael Blunt and Brad Ruppel of CBRE represented Cornerstone in the transaction. Hines notes that Becton Dickinson's consolidation represented a unique opportunity for a value-add investor's first entrance into the southern New Jersey market. “The lack of efficient, flexibly designed bulk warehouse/distribution availabilities, particularly 500,000 square feet and larger, along the I-95 Industrial Corridor was apparent in the high level of interest in this offering,” …

ATLANTA —The iconic Georgia-Pacific Center, a 51-story, 1.1 million-square-foot Class A office tower in downtown Atlanta, has received $112 million in refinancing. The borrower, GA-MET LLC, is a limited liability company owned by Georgia-Pacific LLC and MetLife Insurance Co. (NYSE:MET). “We have seen a significant increase in the number of capital providers lending on deals in Atlanta during the last 24 months, especially for loans in excess of $75 million,” says Mike Ryan, senior managing director for Cushman & Wakefield's equity, debt and structured finance division operating out of Atlanta. Ryan helped arrange the loan on behalf of the borrower. “There was an extremely competitive landscape for Georgia-Pacific Center from the lending community. The impeccable rent roll, institutional sponsorship, modest loan-to-value ratio were well within the target strike zones.” The office tower has served as Georgia-Pacific's headquarters since it was constructed in 1982. Georgia-Pacific is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of tissue, packaging, paper, pulp and building products. “Georgia Pacific Center has been a fixture in Atlanta's skyline for 30 years. An asset of this caliber received considerable interest from the lending community,” says Bill Runge of MetLife. Ryan, Brian Linnihan, Jeff Walker and Larry Johnson of …

WAYNE, PA. — CubeSmart (NYSE: CUBE) has closed on its acquisition of a 22-property self-storage portfolio from Storage Deluxe for $560 million. The assets total 1.6 million square feet and are located in New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The acquisition makes Wayne, Pa.-headquartered CubeSmart the largest owner and operator of self-storage properties in the greater New York City region. Under the terms of the contract, the deal closed in two phases. Phase one included the sale of 16 assets, which closed for $357 million last November. According to CubeSmart, the $202.7 million second phase includes the assumption of $88 million in secured debt. The conclusion of the deal, first announced in October 2011, leaves Storage Deluxe with seven operating self-storage facilities in the boroughs of New York City and six additional facilities under construction. Aaron Swerdlin, who led the HFF team that represented Storage Deluxe in the transaction, says the sale presented a unique opportunity for both parties. “Storage Deluxe spent 13 years developing a portfolio unequalled in scale to anything I've ever seen in the self-storage industry.” “To have an assemblage of this many first-class assets in the boroughs, and in surrounding areas, presented CubeSmart an opportunity to acquire …