SEATTLE — Online retail giant Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has agreed to acquire high-end grocery chain Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) for $13.7 billion. The all-cash transaction amounts to $42 per share and includes the Austin, Texas-based grocer’s net debt. Whole Foods Market will continue to operate stores under the Whole Foods Market brand. John Mackey will remain CEO of Whole Foods Market, and the company’s headquarters will remain in Austin. “This partnership presents an opportunity to maximize value for Whole Foods Market’s shareholders, while at the same time extending our mission and bringing the highest quality, experience, convenience and innovation to our customers,” says Mackey. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by Whole Foods Market’s shareholders, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The parties expect to close the transaction during the second half of 2017. “It seems that Amazon, after all, is one of brick and mortar’s biggest believers — and for good reason. The grocery sector has been in major growth for some time now, and Amazon’s entry into the space will be a game changer,” says Rafael Romero, vice president on the retail team at Coral Gables, Florida-based CREC, an independent real estate firm. “It will be interesting to see how other high-end and organic …
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SEATTLE — Union Investment has purchased the Midtown21 office building in Seattle for approximately $330 million. The 21-story building is located at 1007 Stewart St. in Denny Triangle within the South Lake Union submarket. Amazon is leasing the entire 35,000-square-foot office space. A joint venture between MetLife Real Estate and Trammell Crow Co. developed the property.
EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. — HFF has arranged a $125 million refinancing for Plaza El Segundo, a 380,558-square-foot shopping center located roughly 20 miles outside Los Angeles in El Segundo. The center is 97 percent leased and comprises 13 buildings in three shopping districts: The Plaza, The Collection and The Edge. Tenants at the center include Whole Foods Market, Dick’s Sporting Goods, lululemon athletica, Anthropologie and Salt Creek Grill. Kevin MacKenzie and Matthew Stewart of HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, Federal Realty, to secure the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through PGIM Real Estate Finance.
TEMPE, ARIZ. — Bridge Investment Group has purchased the 659-unit Onnix apartment property in Tempe for $77 million. The community is located at 1440 and 1500 E. Broadway Road. Onnix was built in 1984, one mile from a Valley Metro light rail station. It was developed in two phases as the 375-unit Onnix West and the 284-unit Onnix East. Cliff David and Steve Gebing of Institutional Property Advisors represented both the buyer and institutional seller in this transaction.
LOS ANGELES — BCBG Max Azria Group LLC (BCBG) and some of its affiliates have agreed on a comprehensive restructuring that will consider the sale of substantially all the assets of the company to Marquee Brands LLC and Global Brands Group Holding Limited through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. Consummation of the transactions with Marquee and Global Brands is expected to immediately follow approval by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York with an expected closing date no later than July 31. According to BCBG, Marquee and Global Brands intend to continue to operate a substantial majority of BCBG’s core businesses. Marquee will acquire the intellectual property associated with the BCBG brand and Global Brands will acquire certain of the assets associated with the operation of the BCBG business. Global Brands will operate the wholesale operations, select retail stores and e-commerce platform of the BCBG brands. Founded in 1989, BCBG Max Azria Group is a label sold online, in freestanding boutiques and partner shops at top department stores across the globe. Marquee Brands is a brand acquisition, licensing and development company. Global Brands Group Holding Limited is a branded apparel, footwear and fashion accessories companies.
SAN DIEGO — A high-net-worth individual has acquired a 40,000-square-foot office building that is fully leased to the University of Southern California (USC) for $12.5 million. The building is located at 9860 Mesa Rim Road. USC’s Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute, which is a part of the Keck School of Medicine, occupies the property. It was built in 2000. The 1031 exchange buyer plans to keep the property as a long-term investment. CBRE’s Matt Pourcho, Gary Stache, Anthony DeLorenzo and Mark Shaffer represented the seller, Washington Capital Management, in this transaction.
LOS ALTOS, CALIF. — ABHOW will cut the ribbon next week on a $100 million expansion at The Terraces at Los Altos, a continuing care retirement community in Los Altos, which is located between San Jose and San Francisco. The project, which was executed in multiple phases, most recently added 81 new apartments, a fitness center and spa, dining venues, library and movie theater. The first phase, completed in 2014, added 30 skilled nursing suites and 16 memory support suites. The second phase added 30 assisted living residences. ABHOW both owns and operates the community. Next month the company will merge with fellow West Coast nonprofit operator be.group and rebrand as HumanGood.
SPARKS, NEV. — RCG Ventures has acquired Sparks Crossing, a 335,981-square-foot shopping center located roughly four miles outside Reno in Sparks, for $40.2 million. The property is home to tenants including Ross Dress for Less, Bed Bath & Beyond, Cost Plus World Market, Best Buy, Michaels, PetSmart, Ulta Beauty and Dollar Tree. Peter Bethea and Rob Ippolito of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
GOODYEAR, ARIZ. — Sterling Organization has acquired Palm Valley Marketplace, a 107,633-square-foot shopping center located roughly 16 miles outside Phoenix in Goodyear. Safeway anchors the center, which is also home to Subway, H&R Block, Domino’s Pizza, AAA, Great Clips, The UPS Store, Nationwide Vision, GNC, FastFrame, Oreck, Elements Massage and PurTone Hearing Centers. A subsidiary of Regency Centers sold the asset on behalf of Sterling Organization’s institutional core fund, Sterling United Properties I LP.
LA VERNE, CALIF. — Commercial builder Bernards has broken ground on a 114,970-square-foot residence and dining hall at the University of La Verne in California. Designed by Steinberg Architects, the development will consist of 396 beds, an 18,700-square-foot dining hall, lounge and study spaces, and outdoor patios. The residence hall is the first development within the university’s recently approved Facilities & Technology Master Plan, and will be completed in August 2018.