Mattel Inc. just got a new landlord.
Kilroy Realty Corp. sold the toymaker’s El Segundo research and development building for $45 million to an affiliate of New York hedge fund Angelo Gordon & Co. last month.
Kilroy, a West L.A. real estate investment trust, bought the 192,053-square-foot building at 2031 E. Mariposa Ave. in 1997 for an undisclosed price.
Angelo Gordon’s AG Net Lease Fund II, which specializes in buying single-tenant buildings, closed on the deal early last month. Among its other local purchases last year was a Woodland Hills building that will be fully occupied by camera manufacturer Panavision Inc. in the summer.
Mattel has fully occupied the 10-acre site since 1990 and has a lease through 2026. A distribution building with trailer storage space was built there in the 1950s and Mattel has significantly upgraded it over the years. Mattel’s corporate headquarters, and other offices and other industrial space fill nearly 720,000 square feet nearby.
Kilroy has been expanding geographically into Northern California and Seattle with a greater focus on office space. The company evaluated its portfolio and decided it was time to sell the flex office-industrial property, which it considers less strategic.
Angelo Gordon is expanding its single-tenant property portfolio and was eager to buy a property with an investment-grade tenant with a long-term lease and a strong presence in the area, said Bob Prendergast, managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s San Diego office, who represented Kilroy in the deal.
“This was strategic,” he said.
Kilroy also was represented by Jones Lang Managing Director Lynn LaChapelle in San Diego and Vice President Baker Morphy in Orange County, as well as Executive Vice President Sam Foster in El Segundo. Angelo Gordon represented itself internally.
Commerce Campus
A five-building office campus in Commerce traded for $40.1 million last month.
Omninet Capital LLC, the investment vehicle of Beverly Hills billionaire Neil Kadisha, bought the property at South Eastern and East Slauson avenues, from Thomas National Properties LLC, a real estate investment and asset management firm in Irvine.
The 285,000-square-foot campus is 90 percent leased with tenants that include the California Department of Justice, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Community Bank.
Omninet has been actively looking for underperforming commercial properties in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. It only considers deals greater than $5 million for properties larger than 50,000 square feet. Its portfolio includes the 45-story Sky Las Vegas condo tower and the 44,000-square-foot Valencia Oaks office building. The Business Journal estimated Kadisha’s net worth at $1 billion in May, ranking him No. 39 on its list of Wealthiest Angelenos.
Thomas’ loan on the Commerce property was coming due and the company decided to sell rather than refinance. The buildings were sold at a substantial discount to what they would cost to build today, according to Kevin Shannon, a CBRE Group Inc. vice chairman and managing director who represented both sides in the deal.
“It’s a market clearing price,” said Shannon. “A lot of the tenant base is government-related and given the budget situation, that probably added an element of risk that (Omninet was) willing to take on for getting more yield.”
All of the four Eastern Avenue buildings were built in the 1980s. The one building on Slauson was built in the late 1950s, according to CoStar Group Inc.
CBRE’s First Vice President Scott Schumacher and Voit Real Estate Services’ Senior Vice President Dan Vittone also represented both sides of the deal.
Century City Renewal
Banamex USA is staying put in Century City for another decade.
The subsidiary of New York’s Citigroup Inc. renewed its lease for 38,000 square feet in Century Plaza Towers at 2029 Century Park East. Banamex signed a 10-year lease for the 41st and 42nd floors of the 44-story office tower with landlord JPMorgan Chase & Co. The New York financial services company bought the property in 1997.
Century Plaza Towers are twin 44-story buildings, totaling 2.3 million square feet. Other tenants include JPMorgan, and law firms Seyfarth Shaw LLP and Wasser Cooperman & Carter P.C. Banamex was able to negotiate a lower rental rate, according to Studley Inc. Senior Managing Director Josh Gorin, who represented the bank.
“We proactively took advantage of depressed market conditions to secure our client’s current and future real estate requirements at very favorable terms,” said Gorin, in a statement.
Banamex also was represented by Mark Sullivan, executive vice president in Studley’s downtown L.A. office.
The landlord was represented by Jeff Lasky, senior vice president in CBRE’s Century City office.
Staff reporter Jacquelyn Ryan can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 228.
