Trophy Investors Snag 9900 Wilshire for $148M

A high-profile piece of Beverly Hills commercial real estate that once housed the Robinsons-May department store has been acquired by an investor group from Hong Kong and Singapore for close to $148 million.

The 8-acre property at 9900 Wilshire Blvd. was previously owned by Candy & Candy Inc., the company founded by brothers Nick and Christian Candy. The Candys made their name in London real estate by developing projects such as One Hyde Park, before purchasing the Wilshire property in 2007 for $500 million.

The property, located next to the Beverly Hilton Hotel, fell into foreclosure early this year and was acquired by lender Carlos Slim's Banco Inbursa. Banco Inbursa set up a private bidding auction that was won by Joint Treasure International Ltd., a Hong Kong-based private equity firm specializing in global real estate that represents major family investors.

Joint Treasure acted on behalf of Chow Tai Fook Group of Hong Kong, Wee Cho Yaw Family Group of Singapore and David Chiu of Far East Consortium International Ltd., which is listed on the Hong Kong exchange.

"This is an incomparable site that cannot be replicated, and we intend to build a superb project offering world class luxury residences," Daniel Yiu, senior adviser to Joint Treasure, said in a statement. "Our investor group is interested only in premier properties in premier locations."

Yiu noted that the investor group is familiar with the city because of its investment in the Regent-Beverly Hills Hotel in 1995, which is still under its ownership.

Other U.S. properties that the Joint Treasure International consortium has acquired for its investors include the New York Four Seasons Hotel and two New York City apartment and condominium buildings.

The 9900 Wilshire Blvd. site housed Robinson's Beverly Hills, which opened in February 1952, before being rebranded as Robinsons-May when the companies merged in 1993. The Beverly Hills department store was shuttered in 2006, two years after it was acquired by New Pacific Realty for $33.5 million.

SOURCE:  http://beverlyhills.patch.com/articles/wilshire-property-acquired-by-overseas-investor