Antares Investment Partners Acquires $87 Million Seaboard Office Portfolio in Stamford

GREENWICH, Conn., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Antares Investment Partners, a leading Connecticut-based real estate development and private equity firm greatly expanded its commercial property holdings with the $87 million acquisition of the Seaboard Properties office portfolio in Stamford. The acquisition includes three office properties and a 70-slip marina, totaling 305,000 square feet, including Stamford Landing and 600 Summer Street.

The Seaboard office portfolio expands the Antares' commercial holdings to 2.2 million square feet across 10 properties, including new ground-up development projects and premier office buildings in Greenwich and Stamford. The acquisition also follows the firm's recently announced commercial division growth plan, which is focused on identifying and acquiring world-class commercial properties in the Tri-State area, targeting $1.7 billion in assets in 2007.

"The Seaboard portfolio is a marquee collection of office properties in Stamford," said James Cabrera, co-founder and managing partner, Antares Investment Partners. "This acquisition will position Antares and our investors to benefit from the continued strong demand for office space from major corporations relocating from Manhattan."

"We are proud to include these new office properties in our growing Stamford portfolio, which demonstrates our continued commitment to this city's bright future," said Joe Beninati, co-founder and managing partner, Antares Investment Partners.

The office properties in the portfolio feature prime, strategic locations either near the transportation center, along the harbor front or close to Stamford's vibrant central business and entertainment district.

-- Stamford Landing 1-5: 206,217 SF, 2-4 floors and 70-slip marina -- 600 Summer Street: 98,251 SF, 7 floors

John Wheeler, president of corporate acquisitions, added: "A tight office market and high rents in Manhattan coupled with the growth of new financial service firms and the economic ecosystem that they spawn are driving demand in Stamford and the greater Fairfield county area."

Jeffrey R. Dunne, vice chairman of CB Richard Ellis' New York Tri-State Region Institutional Group, represented Seaboard Properties in the transaction.

With plans to dramatically increase the firm's new investment activity and create a more substantial commercial portfolio, Antares hired John Wheeler and Michael Berman as president of corporate acquisitions and director of asset management, respectively. Wheeler directs all acquisition and investment management activity for the firm and is also responsible for oversight of the firm's brokerage and management services division. He also maintains his affiliation with Jones Lang LaSalle, where he is a managing director, and collaborates on synergistic opportunities between the firms. Berman joins Antares from Equity Office Properties (EOP), which was acquired earlier this year by Blackstone Group.

In addition to these market-leading deals, Antares Commercial division is also embarking on a visionary $3 billion, 82-acre waterfront redevelopment project in Stamford. The multi-phase project, known as Harbor Point, will reconnect the city of Stamford and the South End to the historic harbor and Long Island Sound, with a continuous public promenade along the water's edge and a series of new neighborhood parks, residential housing and retail and restaurant space. The project recently received zoning board approval.

About Antares Investment Partners

Antares Investment Partners ("Antares") is a vertically integrated real estate development and private equity firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut. Antares was founded in 1996, employs approximately 150 professionals and has over $5 billion of assets and projects under management, totaling nearly 10 million square feet. The firm maintains long-standing capital relationships with leading global financial institutions.

Antares is credited with conducting some of the most significant developments in Connecticut and in the United States. The firm's development plans have earned Antares an outstanding reputation as an advocate for environmental and neighborhood concerns and as a collaborator with community members. Visit Antares online: http://www.antaresrealestate.com/.