Norway’s SWF Buys Majority Stake in An Office property in New York

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) has agreed to acquire a 95% interest in an office property in New York City, as part of a new partnership with Beacon Capital Partners.  

Established in the 1990s to invest surplus revenues from Norway’s oil and gas industry, the country’s sovereign wealth fund has a value of more than $1.98 trillion.  The $542.6 million transaction, signed on August 28, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, that values the property at a total of $571.1 million. The seller of the property, located at 1177 Avenue of the Americas, is a partnership between the California State Teachers’ Retirement System and Silverstein Properties. 

A subsidiary of Beacon will retain the remaining 5% stake from Silverstein Partners and took responsibility for managing the property on behalf of the partnership. The asset comprises approximately 100,000 sq. m. of office space.  

The transaction represents part of a wider expansion of NBIM’s unlisted real estate portfolio across key global markets. Silverstein and CalSTRS purchased the building through their Metro Fund LLC joint venture in 2007 for more than $1 billion from Paramount Group, Inc. 

NBIM already owns multiple buildings in prime Manhattan real estate under its broad portfolio, including a 45% stake in Times Square Tower.  

It also holds stakes in Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, Taiwan-based chipmaker TSMC, German defense contractor Rheinmetall and owns around 1.5% of globally listed stock. 

Other Acquisitions

It may be recalled that in March this year, NBIM acquired a 40% interest in AXA Lifestyle Housing (operating under The Boost Society, formerly KLEY Group), a student housing and co-living platform spanning France and Spain. The $280.1 million deal valued the platform at approximately $1.52 billion, with about $700.25 million of debt encumbrance. 

In the same month, NBIM said that it will invest $739 million for a 25% stake in British property developer Shaftesbury Capital’s London property portfolio, which the deal values at $3.63 billion in its entirety. 

The bank also announced the closure of its Tokyo office earlier this year, saying expanding its Japan real estate portfolio through direct investments was no longer a priority.  

NBIM’s real estate investments in the US include properties in major cities like Boston, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, with a total of 486 real estate investments valued at over $16 billion as of June 30. 

Nearly 70% of the NBIM is invested in equities and established in part to invest the profits of Norway’s massive oil and gas sector as Norway is seeks to be one of the first nations to mine in the Arctic region.