Cohen & Steers Buy $300 Million in Hudson Pacific Stock

Cohen & Steers Capital Management is demonstrating its faith in a forthcoming West Coast office market recovery with a new $300 million stock buy from Hudson Pacific Properties.

The New York-based global asset manager made the investment after HPP announced last week that it was looking to sell off $600 million in stock, Bisnow reported. It’s a preemptive move, Cohen & Steers said.

“The West Coast office market recovery is underway and poised to gain momentum over the coming years,” C&S executive vice president and head of listed real estate Jason Yablon said in a statement to Bisnow, saying “Hudson Pacific Properties stands to benefit from this trend.”

With the purchase, Hudson Pacific will be able to reduce its debt, extend existing maturities and fund occupancy in its portfolio. Nearly $600 million worth of debt is set to mature in November.

Hudson Pacific has weathered rough financial waters in recent years. The REIT reported a $381 million net loss last year, more than doubling its $171 million net loss in 2023. In response, the company announced plans in February to offload properties to the tune of $100 million to $150 million.

Hudson Pacific has sold $95 million worth of office buildings so far this year and used the proceeds to pay down its nearly $600 million in maturing debt. The sales are part of “efforts to monetize non-core assets at favorable pricing and in a timely manner,” CEO Victor Coleman said, according to CoStar.

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles-based office owner sold 625 2nd Street in San Francisco’s Bayside Village to Frontline Realty Capital and Triyar Realty Group for $28 million. That 138,000-square-foot sale marked a nearly 50 percent price cut from the $58.5 million Hudson paid for the tower in 2011.

Other HPP sales used to pay down debts include the two-building Maxwell office complex in the Los Angeles Arts District, sold earlier this year for $46 million, and the Foothill Research Center office campus in Palo Alto last fall for $23 million.

— Chris Malone Méndez