Westcore Properties has increased its U.S. commercial real estate holdings to more than 24 million sq. ft. with its purchase of an 11.1-million-sq.-ft. industrial portfolio in California and the Midwest from the Joe Benvenuti Company. Benvenuti passed away in May 2012.
The $600 million transaction is the largest industrial real estate acquisition in California in 2012 and the second-largest industrial acquisition in the U.S. over the same period, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
Westcore acquired the properties in a joint venture with a fund managed by DRA Advisors LLC, a New York-based investment advisor. DRA has acquired $1.8 billion in real estate in 2012, across the retail, office, multifamily and industrial sectors in the U.S.
"We have been long-term believers in industrial markets supported by ports and agri-business, which has led us to invest heavily in greater San Francisco as well as the San Joaquin and Central Valley areas of Northern California," Marc Brutten, chairman and founder of Westcore Properties, said in a statement. "This acquisition gives us a strong foothold in Sacramento, a stabilizing market that has an outstanding distribution and transportation network."
"DRA has always been an active investor in industrial space, typically acquiring individual, value-added opportunities," David Luski, president of DRA Advisors, said in a statement. "We are pleased to have made two larger portfolio acquisitions in the sector this year, as we like the cash flow attributes and opportunity to add value operationally, while benefiting from improving market conditions."
The 110 buildings acquired by Westcore and DRA in the transaction include 8.0 million sq. ft. in Sacramento, 1.9 million sq. ft. in St. Louis and 1.0 million sq. ft. in Indianapolis. In the transaction, Westcore Properties, DRA and the seller, JB Properties, were represented by Mark Demetre, Bill Niethammer, Matt Lofrano and Mike Zimmerman of Jones Lang LaSalle 's Sacramento office.