BOSTON — MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) and Norges Bank Investment Management have purchased the One Beacon Street office tower in Boston for approximately $561 million. This is the joint venture’s second property investment in Boston and its fourth overall.
“One Beacon Street in Boston adds a high-quality asset in a core market to our joint portfolio with Norges Bank Investment Management,” says Robert Merck, MetLife’s senior managing director and global head of real estate investments.
MetLife and Norges Bank Investment Management acquired the 34-story office tower from a joint venture between Beacon Capital Partners and insurer Allianz. MetLife will own 52.5 percent of One Beacon Street and be the managing member, while Norges Bank Investment Management will own the remaining 47.5 percent.
Located in Boston’s financial district, One Beacon Street is LEED Platinum-certified and offers more than 1 million square feet of office space. Built in 1973, One Beacon Street is currently about 85 percent leased to tenants such as the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Massachusetts Building Authority, Standard Life Investments (USA) Limited and JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA.
The joint venture between MetLife and Norges Bank Investment Management now has a real estate portfolio with a gross value of approximately $2.4 billion.
The three other properties in the joint venture’s portfolio are One Financial Center in Boston; District Center (formerly the Thurman Arnold Building) at 555 12th St. in Washington, D.C.; and 425 Market St. in San Francisco.
MetLife Inc. is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. It serves more than 100 million customers in nearly 50 countries.
Norges Bank Investment Management is the manager of the Norwegian Government Pension Fun Global, which currently manages approximately $890 billion.
MetLife’s stock price closed at $54.81 per share on Monday, July 28, up from $48.93 per share this time last year.
— Scott Reid