Norway's SWF buys 45% stake in Times Square office tower

New York

NORWAY's sovereign wealth fund (SWF) bought a stake in 11 Times Square, a 40-storey office tower in midtown Manhattan, in a deal the seller says values the building at US$1.4 billion. Norges Bank Investment Management purchased the 45 per cent interest from developer SJP Properties and Prudential Financial Inc, according to SJP.

Construction of the 1.1 million-square-foot skyscraper in Times Square began before the property market collapsed in 2008, without any space leased. It landed its first tenant in 2010, when it was one month from completion. It is now about 85 per cent occupied by tenants including law firm Proskauer Rose LLP and Microsoft Corp.