Greenwich-based fund acquires Tokyo office building.

Starwood Opportunity Fund V, L.P., a fund sponsored by Starwood Capital Group, and Nomura Real Estate Development Company, Ltd. have acquired, under a sale-leaseback arrangement, a 237,948-square foot office building in Tokyo.

The building is 100 percent leased to Tokimec, a company listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, under a long-term lease (seven years), which is a product of the recent changes to lease law in Japan. The new fixed-term lease law introduced in March of this year affords greater protection to building owners with respect to lease enforcement.

Valued in excess of $44.5 million, the building represents a significant addition to the portfolio of buildings being assembled by the Starwood/Nomura joint venture for a possible REIT exit, something which will be enabled by pending legislation.

"We are very pleased with the progress this joint venture is making in executing our investment strategy in Japan," said Ken Munkacy, Managing Director of Starwood Asia Holdings.

Founded in 1957, Nomura is one of Japan's leading real estate organizations with approximately 300 billion yen of equity invested in a wide array of commercial projects throughout Japan, the U.S. and Australia.

Nomura currently manages more than 480 billion yen in assets for itself and others, providing a full range of real estate services from property management and leasing to investment management. Nomura is also one of Japan's top condominium developers averaging 4,000 unit sales per year, generating approximately 240 billion yen in revenues.

Based in Greenwich, Conn., Starwood Capital Group LLC is a privately held investment management firm that specializes in real estate-related investments on behalf of select private and institutional investor partners.

Since 1991, through a series of opportunity funds and affiliates, the Starwood Capital Group has invested more than $7 billion in various real estate assets, strategic joint ventures and real estate operating companies.