Shvo to buy Transamerica Building at 10% discount after Covid delay

Extension on closing was granted in May; seller will assist with financing

The Transamerica Building in San Francisco and Michael Shvo (Rawpixel Ltd via Flickr)
The Transamerica Building in San Francisco and Michael Shvo (Rawpixel Ltd via Flickr)

Michael Shvo is getting a 10-percent discount on the $700 million acquisition of San Francisco’s Transamerica Building — thanks to coronavirus.

The developer and his partners, which include private equity firm Deutsche Finance America and German pension fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), were granted an extension to close on the deal in May and signed a purchase agreement on Wednesday, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

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The seller, Transamerica Corp, will be assisting with the financing for the deal, which is now expected to close in early September. A spokesperson for Shvo said that the deal was moving forward but declined further comment, citing the due diligence period for the transaction.

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The sale marks the first time the 853-foot landmark has changed hands since being built in 1972. The office building, with an address at 600 Montgomery Street, had an occupancy of about 90 percent when listed for sale last August.

In the months preceding the coronavirus crisis, Shvo and his partners were among the most aggressive investors in U.S. real estate, acquiring $3.5 billion worth of properties in 18 months. Other acquisitions included the “Big Red” office tower in Chicago and a pair of mixed-use office buildings in New York.

This isn’t the first big San Francisco real estate deal to face coronavirus-related delays. China Oceanwide’s roughly $1 billion sale of its partially-built Oceanwide Center development has seen closing pushed back repeatedly, with a new buyer entering the deal in March. [SFBT] — Kevin Sun