CalPERS Wants to Sell Stake in Catellus

Catellus Development Corp., the state’s largest private landowner, said the California Public Employees’ Retirement System wants to sell as much as half of its 41% stake in the company. San Francisco-based Catellus said CalPERS asked the company to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission so it can sell as much as 19 million of its 37.8 million shares in a public offering. CalPERS is reducing its $812-million stake in Catellus just as the company’s shares are benefiting from a strong state economy and rebound in the West Coast real estate markets. Catellus shares are up 89% this year. Even so, the investment has hardly been a winner for the nation’s biggest pension fund. CalPERS received its 41% stake in Catellus when the company was spun off from Santa Fe Pacific Corp. in 1990 at the top of the real estate market. Its average investment in the company is about $15.50 a share, according to analysts. CalPERS said the sale is part of a plan to diversify its $6.4-billion real estate portfolio. Catellus shares fell 50 cents to close at $21.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. The announcement was made after the close of trading.