London's AXA Investment Group Raises $1.8 Billion; Aims for $2 Billion

With European investors hungry for fresh investment capital, London-based AXA Real Estate Investment Managers announced it has raised $1.8 billion (1.4 billion euros) to loan projects in The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Switzerland. The new funds raises AXA's lending chest to 7 billion euros for the year to date.  One euro equals $1.30 U.S.

AXA says it expects to raise another two billion euros by the end of this year. The new tranche of fund-raising follows 1.3 billion euros in investments made by AXA Real Estate for the first half of 2012.  AXA Real Estate Investment Managers is a subsidiary of AXA Investment Managers (AIM)

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Amazon Buys Its 11-Building Seattle Headquarters Campus for $1.16 Billion

Signaling that near-future growth is on the way, Seattle, WA-based Amazon.com, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, has contracted to purchase its 11-building, 1.8-million-square-foot South Lake Union headquarters campus from Vulcan Real Estate for $1.16 billion.

The deal is expected to close before the end of the year. Seattle real estate sources call it the biggest commercial real estate deal in Seattle's history. The sales price of the four-year-old property equates to $644 per square foot.

Vulcan Real Estate was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. He began building the complex in 2008 after Amazon signed long-term leases that expire in the 2020s. Allen is selling the property to rebalance its investment portfolio and free up capital for more development in  the booming South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, according to published media reports.

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California Healthcare Investment Partners' Portfolio Hits $1 Billion

Newport Beach, CA-based American Healthcare Investors and Griffin Capital Corp. announced their $108.5 million acquisition of three Los Angeles-area hospitals and three medical office buildings in Frisco, TX and Jasper, GA. The purchase brings the partners' portfolio value to $1.1 billion on 121 buildings in 26 states.

"Reaching the $1 billion mark in aggregate portfolio value, based on purchase price, is a key milestone for Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II," said Danny Prosky, a principal of American-Healthcare Investors and president and chief operating officer of the REIT.

He added, "Size and scale can be very important in terms of real estate portfolio operations, efficiency and potential enhanced value of the REIT as a whole. The REIT has now grown to the size where it is one of the largest and most significant owners of healthcare-related real estate in the country."