Sanofi’s HQ Sells for $261M

55 Corporate Drive, Bridgewater, N.J. Image courtesy of American Finance Trust

American Finance Trust has shed a major non-core asset with the sale of 55 Corporate Drive, the office property in Bridgewater, N.J., that presently houses the North American headquarters of global pharmaceutical company Sanofi.

With the assistance of CBRE, American Finance sold the approximately 675,000-square-foot asset to AVG Partners for just over $260.6 million.

55 Corporate Drive consists of three interconnected, low-rise structures on a 150-acre site located roughly 45 miles west of Manhattan. The office campus first opened in 1987 and underwent a full renovation in 2006, before being submitted to a $40 million interior improvement project in 2019.

READ ALSO: What the Interest Rate Hikes Mean for CRE

Among the property’s list of amenities are an auditorium and conference center, a full-service cafeteria, a fitness facility and an on-site pharmacy. Sanofi has a lease agreement for the entire campus through the end of 2032. Despite the national office market being in flux, the investment community stood up and took note of the asset.

Jeremy Neuer, executive vice president with CBRE, said in a prepared statement that the quality of the building, the amenities, and the workplace environment along with the creditworthiness of Sanofi attracted a deep buyer pool. “Capital clearly understands that trophy buildings will continue to be in demand in our market,” he added.

Neuer and CBRE colleagues Jeffrey Dunne, Steve Bardsley, David Gavin, Rich Gatto, Fahri Ozturk, Travis Langer, Zach McHale and Michael Monahan secured the buyer and represented American Finance in the sale of 55 Corporate Drive, which marked the largest single-tenant transaction in the Garden State since 2016.

Profits for a purpose

American Finance had owned 55 Corporate Drive since it purchased the property in its previous incarnation as American Realty Capital Trust V Inc. in 2014 from Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc. for $252.4 million. In December 2021, American Finance announced that as part of its portfolio transitioning and impending rebranding as The Necessity Retail REIT Where America Shops, it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell the asset in a deal marking a 6.38 percent cash capitalization rate and a nearly $10 million increase over the original purchase price.

The sale of 55 Corporate Drive decreases American Finance’s exposure in the office sector from 7 percent to just 1 percent. The company plans to utilize proceeds from the disposition to help finance a $1.3 billion retail portfolio purchase.