After months of delay and a substantial discount, the Transamerica Pyramid has finally changed hands in a $650M deal between real estate investment firm Shvo and Deutsche Finance America. The sale works out to just over $850 per SF.
Shvo and company agreed to an initial deal with then-owner Aegon in February, before the coronavirus pandemic brought a lengthy delay and a 10% discount. The sale marks a rare sign of life in San Francisco's now-dormant office market and the first time the iconic property has changed hands in its almost 50-year history.
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The deal, which also includes adjacent buildings 545 and 505 Sansome St., will be followed by a renovation project, the company said in a statement.
Aegon, the parent company of Transamerica Corp., will retain naming rights and keep the building's name for now. Joining Shvo and Deutsche Finance America in the acquisition is a group of European investors led by Bayerische Versorgungskammer, a German pension fund.
“We’re proud to take on ownership and management of the Transamerica Pyramid — the most famous and recognizable skyscraper on the West Coast, and one of the most memorable office towers in the world,” Shvo Chairman and CEO Michael Shvo said in a statement.
It has been a roller-coaster year for the company. In July, Michael Shvo was sued by Turkish businessman Serdar Bilgili, who alleged the company cut Bilgili out of the $700M acquisition of 333 South Wabash Ave. in Chicago. Shvo pleaded guilty in 2016 to tax evasion after values were questioned for Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Frank Stella and Alexander Calder pieces he owned.
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