Brion Applegate, co-founder of private equity firm Spectrum Equity, has closed on one of this year’s priciest home sales in Woodside, a Bay Area enclave favored by technology billionaires and wealthy venture capitalists.
Applegate bought 140 Olive Hill Lane, a 7,100-square-foot “contemporary farmhouse” near the Menlo Country Club, for $16.8 million, property records show. The deal stands as the second-priciest home sale in Woodside so far this year, according to Zillow data. The top spot belongs to a $29.6 million transaction for a “European-inspired estate” that involves an entity linked to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The transaction for the Olive Hill Lane home closed on May 13.
The mansion, which sits on a 3-acre lot, has a four-bedroom main structure and a detached, 1,300-square-foot guest house. The main house was completed in 2012 by Menlo Park-based home builder Pacific Peninsula Group, a Compass listing shows. In keeping with its description as a farmhouse, the property contains a vegetable garden, a chicken coop and fenced corrals.
The sellers are Tom and Margaret Bedecarre. Tom Bedecarre is the co-founder of advertising agency AKQA. He was AKQA’s chairman when it was acquired by rival WPP Group in 2012. In March, AKQA launched the Tom Bedecarre School of the Year Award, which “recognizes schools, academies and educational centers that demonstrate a proven approach to broadening access and leveraging pioneering technology to amplify impact.”
The Bedecarres have owned the Olive Hill Lane home since 2005, property records show. It went on the market in November last year with an asking price of nearly $18 million.
Applegate’s Spectrum Equity firm was an early investor in genealogy startup Ancestry.com and food delivery service Grubhub. Last year, the company invested $100 million into London-based cybersecurity company NetCraft.
Applegate and Bedecarre could not be reached for comment.