Kaufman & Broad a Partner in Parisian Venture : Construction: The consortium will build the largest office complex in France. The project is expected to be worth $1.7 billion when completed.
Los Angeles-based developer Kaufman & Broad Home Corp. announced Wednesday that it is part of a consortium that has won the right to develop the largest office complex in France--a 2.2-million-square-foot behemoth that will house the Paris headquarters of Esso, the French subsidiary of Exxon Corp.
The Kaufman & Broad consortium, which includes eight of France’s largest financial institutions and three development firms, did not disclose the value of the development contract. But it estimates that the complex--adjacent to the famous “Grande Arche” on Paris’ west side--will be worth more than $1.7 billion when it is completed in mid-1995.
Office space within Paris has been short because of city building height restrictions similar to those in Washington that are meant to keep development from blocking the view of the Capitol. To ease the crunch, French officials have eased limitations in the La Defense area of Paris, where the consortium will build the two 45-story office towers for Esso as well as a 65,000-square-foot art museum and three smaller buildings.
Officials of Kaufman & Broad--a company that specializes in selling low-cost, entry level housing in the United States as well as residential and commercial development in France--said the development contract is not expected to affect the company’s finances in fiscal 1991.
And officials say even after the Paris development begins to make a contribution to Kaufman & Broad’s bottom line, French operations are expected to continue to account for about half of the operations at the Los Angeles home builder, which had net income of $40 million in fiscal 1990, on revenue of $1.4 billion.
Nevertheless, Wall Street investors appeared impressed by the winning of the contract. In trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, Kaufman & Broad shares closed at $14.50, up 50 cents.
