GlobeSt.com EXCLUSIVE: Gale Takes Portfolio for $555M

FLORHAM PARK, NJ-The Gale Co., based here, closed on its acquisition of a 36-building, 4.7-million-sf office portfolio, GlobeSt.com has learned. In a deal that has been in the works since Gale signed a definitive purchase and sale agreement in early spring, the firm is spending $555 million to buy out the interests of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds and UBS in the properties.

The portfolio, which Gale has been managing for the past seven years, is made up of the bulk of the holdings of Bellemead Development Corp., which was itself owned by Chubb Insurance. The buildings, a combination of class A and B assets, are located in New Jersey, as well as in Michigan and the Chicago area. Gale, MSREF and UBS bought the holdings from Chubb in 1997.

Gale is financing the acquisition through Wachovia Securities, and through an affiliate of the New York-based SL Green Realty Corp. Schonbraun Safris McCann Bekritsky & Co. of Roseland advised Gale on the deal, while Morgan Stanley and UBS advised their own respective affiliates.