LA Buzz Off: One of the most watched office-sale sagas in Los Angeles has fizzled out. Macquarie Office Trust, an Australian real-estate investment trust, took One California Plaza off the market last week, according to a person familiar with the property. The decision comes about one year after the 992,000-square-foot, glass-clad office building in the tony Bunker Hill neighborhood was put on the block.
The lukewarm response of bidders likely led in part to the decision. Macquarie purchased an 80% stake in the building in 2006 in a deal that valued the property at $325 million. The seller was Maguire Properties of Los Angeles, which retained ownership of 20% of the tower. The 42-story building was in negotiations with at least one potential buyer for a price in the $220 million range.
Additionally, the difficulty that potential buyers have had nationwide cobbling together financing also likely was a factor, some brokers said. Maguire Properties didn't return calls and a Macquarie spokesman declined to comment on the status of the building. But the move also may signal the company's confidence in a recovery. In a briefing with unit holders this month, Macquarie executives seemed to suggest a change in its U.S. asset strategy. This year, Adrian Taylor, Macquarie's chief executive, said the company would sell some U.S. assets. In the more recent briefing, the company said it planned to invest in the U.S. portfolio as the markets start to recover rather than to sell assets at a low point in the cycle, according to a document posted on the company's Web site. "Given we expect a turnaround in the U.S., it is clearly a poor time to sell," the document states.
