Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund, which is the largest in the world, is purchasing a 49.9 percent stake in five office properties in the U.S. According to Bloomberg; this is the fund’s first investment in U.S. real estate.
The price of the stake is $500 million, and it’s being divided among five properties owned by TIAA-CREF, a company which sells and manages retirement accounts for workers from non-profit organizations. TIAA-CREFF retained the other 50.1 percent of the properties and is going to manage the portfolio. The fund’s manager said the joint venture is considering making investments in shopping malls in the U.S. The investments would be made by purchasing listed shares in investment trusts.
The properties which the fund invested in are located on Park Avenue South and Fifth Avenue, in New York; Pennsylvania Avenue and I Street in Washington and Arch Street in Boston. At this point the joint venture is looking at other office investments in the U.S., especially in those three cities. Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund could also form other joint ventures with other U.S. companies like pension funds or insurance companies.
Norway isn’t the only nation to begin upping its investments in the U.S. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that China has also increased its U.S. investments. Chinese buyers are reportedly targeting small companies by purchasing minority stakes in less-sensitive companies. For example, U.S. regulators approved the acquisition of a battery maker by a Chinese company. Last year there were more than 46 deals involving over $10 billion with buyers in China.
In spite of the increase in Chinese interest in the U.S., China’s investment into Canada is still much higher, with $23 billion worth of investments into Canadian companies last year.
