Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has joined hands with Douglas Emmett, a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT), to acquire a prime 1.72 million sq ft office portfolio in the US.

The portfolio consists of four Class "A" office buildings located in Westwood, a premier West Los Angeles submarket. The purchase price was approximately $1.34 billion, or $777 per sq ft, said a staatement from Douglas Emmett.

As per the deal, the US real estate group plans to retain 20 to 30 per cent of the equity in the joint venture, with the remaining interests being held by institutional partners.

The joint venture has obtained a non-recourse $580 million interest-only loan with a seven-year term. The interest rate is floating at Libor plus 1.40 per cent, which has been fixed at 2.37 per cent annually for five years through an interest rate swap, it stated.

With the addition of this portfolio, Douglas Emmett now controls 74 per cent of the Westwood Wilshire office corridor.

Douglas Emmett's total commercial portfolio now consists of 66 office properties totaling approximately 17.2 million rentable sq ft. It also owns ten premier apartment communities in Los Angeles and Honolulu with a total of 3,336 units.

For the Qatar fund, this joint venture represents another step in its plans to significantly expand its US investment portfolio, and follows other large investments in real estate, such as in New York City last year.

In 2015, QIA announced plans to invest $35 billion in North America over five years.-TradeArabia News Service