Palo Alto Firm to Manage 800 Ventura Apartments

Essex Property Trust said it has agreed to sell $40 million of convertible preferred stock to a real estate fund associated with Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management Corp.

The investment from Tiger/Westbrook Real Estate Fund LP will give Essex cash to expand its holdings of apartment properties in California, Seattle and Portland, Ore.

As part of the investment, the company will take over managing about 800 apartment units owned by Tiger/Westbrook in Ventura County.

Essex Property, based in Palo Alto, owns or has stakes in 23 apartment properties containing 4,924 units.

New York-based Tiger/Westbrook controls more than $1.6 billion in real estate assets in 24 states.