L.A. Couple Buying Hawaii Towers
Los Angeles businessman John E. Anderson and his wife, Marion, are buying one of Hawaii’s top office properties, the twin-towers AmFac Center in Honolulu’s central business district.
Anderson, who heads Century City’s diversified Topa Equities Ltd., is paying close to $95 million for the 20-story, 478,000-square-foot waterfront complex. Escrow is scheduled to close late this month or in early November, he said. Eastdil Realty is brokering the sale on behalf of the property’s longtime owner, Mitsui Fudosan (USA) Inc.
Like other wealthy business people such as L.A.’s Marvin Davis, Anderson is taking advantage of low interest rates and an economic dip to acquire prime commercial real estate. Davis, after selling Century City’s Fox Plaza to a group headed by Orange County real estate mogul Donald Bren last summer, purchased a 50-story Chicago tower for about $235 million in September.
Anderson, 84, declined to discuss financial specifics of the AmFac Center deal but he acknowledged that he and his wife were able to secure “a rather attractive financing arrangement.”
Real estate investment specialists have noted recently that well-heeled buyers at times can achieve substantial “positive leverage.” For such a transaction, they might earn immediate annual returns equal to perhaps 9% of the purchase price, while borrowing at closer to 5%.
The Andersons, residents of Bel Air and among the region’s best-known philanthropists, certainly would seem to qualify for top borrowing rates. According to Forbes magazine’s latest ranking of wealthy Americans, John Anderson’s net worth is estimated at $750 million. The attorney and accountant made a fortune in beverage distribution and has diversified into such fields as banking, insurance and real estate.
Anderson said his approach to investment in real estate and other asset classes is to pay for quality rather than to seek bargains in riskier investments. Most of the Andersons’ local real estate holdings are in upscale districts such as Beverly Hills, Century City, Westwood, Brentwood and Pacific Palisades.
