SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Dec 21, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
Grosvenor Americas has appointed Sommer Johnson to the position of
Investment Manager in the company’s San Francisco, CA headquarters
office. He will be responsible for Grosvenor Americas’ real estate
acquisitions in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles/Orange
County markets, focusing on value-add office, retail, and apartment
assets.

Mr. Johnson joins Grosvenor from AIG Global Real Estate Investment
Corp. in San Francisco, where he served as a manager. His 15 years of
industry experience also has included positions with Shorenstein
Properties, and Tishman Speyer Properties. He holds a B.A. degree in
economics from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Haas
School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley.

Grosvenor is a privately owned property group with offices in 17 of
the world’s most dynamic cities. It has four regional investment and
development businesses in Britain Ireland, the Americas, Australia
and Asia Pacific; an international fund management business, which
operates across these markets and in continental Europe; and a
portfolio of indirect investments. As of December 31, 2010, these six
businesses had total assets under management of US$17.1bn. Unusual
for a private company, Grosvenor publishes a full Annual Report
Accounts, available at
www.grosvenor.com .

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SOURCE: Grosvenor Americas

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Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/grosvenor-americas-appoints-sommer-johnson-investment-manager-san-francisco-2011-12-21

RREEF Real Estate will sell the buildings to PS Business Parks Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Glendale, California, Deutsche Bank said in a statement yesterday. PSB will assume $250 million of debt as part of the transaction.

Rents and occupancy in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley area are rising on demand from technology firms. Google Inc. and Apple Inc. combined have leased almost 4 million square feet (372,000 square meters) this year, according to San Jose-based broker Cassidy Turley.

“The combination of strong demand and limited availability of core real estate assets in the San Francisco Bay Area has resulted in attractive pricing,” Brian McAuliffe, head of Americas transactions at RREEF Real Estate, said in a statement.

Of the buildings being sold, 45 percent are warehouses and the rest can be used for either offices or warehouses. The portfolio includes 26 projects and more than 5.3 million square feet of space. The properties were 82 percent leased as of December 2011.

“This portfolio acquisition significantly enhances PSB’s presence in Northern California, providing a strong concentration of parks in markets that are poised for continued recovery,” Joseph D. Russell Jr., president and chief executive officer of PS Business Parks, said in a separate statement.

Following the purchase, the company will own 7.2 million square feet of multi-tenant industrial and multi-use space in 30 business parks in Northern California, making up about 26 percent of its properties.

RREEF Real Estate had $58.5 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30.

–Editors: Andreea Papuc, Linus Chua.

Article source: http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LWJ9WK0D9L3501-34G45AJ05ICO9D2LS6CBMC7OIO