The New York State Common Retirement Fund has taken a 49.9% stake in a $1.4bn (€1.28bn) real estate portfolio owned by MetLife.
The portfolio of seven office properties will be managed by MetLife Investment Management, which was set up four years ago to manage investments on behalf of the insurer and other third-party investors.
MetLife Investment Management now has $20bn of commitments from third-party investors across asset classes including real estate equity and debt.
The assets encompass 3.7m sqft and include: 655 West Broadway in San Diego, California; 1075 Peachtree in Atlanta, Georgia; 1320 North Courthouse in Arlington County, Virginia; 2100 McKinney in Dallas, Texas; Montague Pointe in San Jose, San Francisco; PNC Centre in Chicago, Illinois; Wells Fargo Center in Miami, Florida.
Robert Merck, senior managing director and head of global real estate for MetLife, said, “We are very pleased to partner with the New York Common Retirement Fund on investing in this portfolio of high quality real estate properties.
“We share a strategy of investing for the long term, and we look forward to growing this equity portfolio with them for many years to come.”
The $185bn New York State Common Retirement Fund has also allocated $350m to a joint venture to invest in apartments in major US markets.
Simpson Housing Joint Venture II will be managed by Simpson Housing and separate account manager LaSalle Investment Management.
It will target income-producing assets and properties with some value-add elements.