SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has reached an agreement with BlackRock
to acquire Asia Square Tower 1 in Singapore at approximately S$3.4
billion (US$2.45 billion). This marks the largest single-tower real
estate transaction in Asia Pacific to date, and the second largest
single-tower real estate transaction globally.*
Asia Square Tower 1, an award-winning landmark office building, offers
43-stories of space totaling over 1.25 million square feet of net
lettable area. This property has received the US Green Building
Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environment Core & Shell (LEED-CS)
Platinum certification, which remains the highest accolade for
environmental sustainability, and boasts column-free floor space of up
to 35,000 square feet. Citibank has been the anchor tenant since the
building’s completion in 2011. Together with Asia Square Tower 2, the
complex is a world-class integrated development located in Singapore’s
Marina Bay business and financial district.
Mark McCombe, BlackRock's Global Head of Institutional Client Business
and Head of BlackRock Alternative Investors, said, "We value our strong
partnership with Qatar Investment Authority, and are delighted to have
the opportunity to work closely with them on this landmark real estate
transaction. Singapore remains well-positioned as a gateway city
offering premium commercial real estate opportunities to long-term
international investors."
John Saunders, Head of APAC for BlackRock Real Estate, commented, “We
are proud to have developed Asia Square from the ground up after the
land acquisition in Marina Bay, and leased the property to an excellent
tenant base. This premier office project is testament to BlackRock’s
strong capability in real estate development and management to meet the
needs of tenants and investors seeking core assets. We are very pleased
with the sale, and look forward to working closely with Qatar Investment
Authority to maintain the pre-eminent status of Asia Square.”
JLL and CBRE are joint sole advisors for this transaction for BlackRock.
* Data as compiled by JLL since 2004
About Qatar Investment Authority
Qatar Investment Authority was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to
strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes.
Building on the heritage of Qatar investments dating back more than
three decades, its growing portfolio of long-term investments help
complement the state's huge wealth in natural resources.
Headquartered in Doha, and now with a subsidiary in New York “ QIA
Advisory “ , QIA is structured to operate at the very highest levels of
global investing. As a world class investor, QIA adheres to the
strictest financial and commercial disciplines. It has a strong track
record of investing in different asset classes, including listed
securities, property, alternative assets and private equity in all the
major capital markets as well as the newer emerging markets.
For more information, please visit www.qia.qa
About BlackRock
BlackRock is one of the global leaders in investment management, risk
management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients.
At March 31, 2016, BlackRock’s AUM was US$4.737 trillion. BlackRock
helps clients around the world meet their goals and overcome challenges
with a range of products that include separate accounts, mutual funds,
iShares® (exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles.
BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise
investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors
through BlackRock Solutions®. As of March 31, 2016, the firm had
approximately 13,000 employees in more than 30 countries and a major
presence in global markets, including North and South America, Europe,
Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa.
BlackRock Real Estate is the dedicated real estate investment group
within BlackRock and invests in strategies across the risk and return
spectrum, providing access to all major property types. The business
manages over US$21 billion of private and public real estate equity and
debt on behalf of investors worldwide in 17 offices across 11 countries
in Asia Pacific, Europe and the US.
The real estate platform, together with the infrastructure business,
combines to form the BlackRock Real Asset group. The integrated create a
group of more than 300 professionals located across 22 offices and
managing over US$30 billion of client assets as of June 1, 2016.
GMC-0169
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160606006542/en/
Media
Qatar Investment Authority
London:
David
Henderson, +44(0)20 7251 3801
Andrew Hughes, +44(0)20 7251 3801
or
Asia:
Karen
Yu, +852 3166 9888
or
BlackRock
New York:
Tara
McDonnell, 1-212-810-5337
tara.mcdonnell@blackrock.com
or
Hong
Kong:
Rowena Kwok, +852 3903 2913
rowena.kwok@blackrock.com
or
Cynthia
Ng, +852 3903 2553
cynthia.ng@blackrock.com
Source: BlackRock