Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) has taken a 45% stake in a prime New York office and retail asset.
Prudential Real Estate Investors and SJP Properties said they had sold the holding in Eleven Times Square to the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund.
NBIM has typically agreed to buy 45% stakes US properties, last year buying interests in 601 Lexington Avenue and Atlantic Wharf, in New York City, and 100 Federal Street in Boston for $1.5bn (€1.2bn).
The 1.1m sqft Times Square property, in mid-town Manhattan, has a gross value of $1.4bn.
PREI and SJP said they would continue to own and control the building, with the latter as operating partner and managing the property.
The two firms said the stake had attracted “significant interest from a global roster of international organisations and sovereign wealth funds”.
Kevin Smith, a PREI senior managing director and head of the Americas business, said: “The strength of the tenant roster and the state-of-the art features at Eleven Times Square, combined with its central location in the heart of New York City, allowed us to capitalise on the strong investor demand for core office properties in New York.
“This transaction gives us the opportunity to retain control of this trophy asset with our long-term partner SJP, while also allowing PREI to redeploy capital into other core investments that provide steady returns for our investors.”
The building, inclusive of signed leases and current activity, is due to be around 90% let, with Microsoft and law firm Proskauer as anchor tenants.
