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Exterior of the new Panasonic headquarters building in downtown Newark. (John O'Boyle | The Star-Ledger)
NEWARK -- The building that houses Panasonic's North American headquarters has been sold to an international investment fund, the former owners of the Newark tower announced Wednesday.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, KFH Capital Investment Co., a Kuwait-based firm that manages the fund, bought Two Riverfront Plaza in Newark for $165 million from previous owners SJP Properties and Matrix Development.
While on the market, the building attracted interest from investors from Malaysia, the Middle East, and China, the report said.
Panasonic, which rents the entire 337,500-square-foot, 12-story office tower as part of a long-term agreement, will stay in the building, the previous owners announced. The company moved into the newly-built tower in 2013.
"This sale reflects the unparalleled quality of this building - which resulted in tremendous interest among institutional-grade investors from all around the world - as well as Newark's growing reputation as an established hub for global business," SJP's CEO Steven J. Pozycki said in a statement.
"We're extremely proud to have delivered a building that has helped to put this city on the radar of international investors."
According to reports at the time, Matrix bought the then-empty building lot for $5 million in 2003, and spent about $200 million to build it.
Panasonic moved its U.S. headquarters from Secaucus when it received a $104.4 million the Urban Transit Hub tax credit from the state's Economic Development Authority.
"The sale of Two Riverfront Plaza demonstrates the continued demand for premier office assets in urban lifestyle environments with mass transit connectivity, such as Newark," said Jeffrey Dunne of CBRE Institutional Properties, which represented the sellers in the deal.
"As the headquarters for Panasonic Corporation of North America, one of Newark's most prominent corporate anchor tenants, this world-class building is well positioned to provide the owner with long-term value."
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.