The Firm is representing Blackstone's real estate funds in connection with the sale of Equity Office Properties' San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley portfolio to Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. in a stock and cash transaction valued at $3.5 billion. The portfolio consists of 26 high-quality office assets totaling approximately 8.2 million square feet and two development parcels in irreplaceable Bay Area submarkets with strong, diversified tenancy, including several blue-chip technology companies. Blackstone will receive $1.75 billion in cash and approximately 63.5 million Hudson common shares and operating partnership units. Following the acquisition, Blackstone will own approximately 48% of the company's common equity on a fully diluted basis. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including Hudson stockholder approval of the proposed equity issuance.
The Firm represented Blackstone when it acquired the portfolio as part of the landmark $39 billion acquisition of Equity Office Properties, the largest leveraged buyout at the time.
Hudson is a New York Stock Exchange-listed REIT that is a full-service, vertically integrated real estate company focused on owning, operating and acquiring high-quality office properties and state-of-the-art media and entertainment properties in select growth markets primarily in Northern and Southern California and the Pacific Northwest. The company's portfolio currently consists of approximately 6.4 million square feet, not including undeveloped land that can support approximately another 1.9 million square feet.
The Simpson Thacher team includes Brian Stadler, Matt Rogers, Aditya Basrur and Shannon Guy (M&A); Sas Mehrara, Alison Ando, Whitney Salinas, Allan Chorny, Matthew Kopko and Kathryn Altomonte (Real Estate); Nancy Mehlman and Jordan Tamchin (Tax); Alden Millard and Brian Gluck (Credit); Edgar Lewandowski (Capital Markets); Greg Grogan, Jeanne Annarumma, Alina Finkelshteyn and Nadine Mompremier (Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits); and Jonathan Karen and Steve Homan (Private Funds).