SAN FRANCISCO, CA (May 4, 2000) – Leading real estate companies across a broad range of property sectors announced today the formation of a real estate technology company, currently referred to as Project Constellation. The company intends to form, incubate and sponsor real estate-related Internet, e-commerce and broadband enterprises; acquire interests in existing “best of breed” companies on a synergistic basis; and act as an opportunistic consolidator across property sectors in the emerging real estate technology area.
Project Constellation’s founding membership includes the three largest public real estate companies and the three largest real estate service companies by total market capitalization. Founding members include: AMB Property Corporation, Equity Office Properties Trust, Equity Residential Properties Trust, Kaufman & Broad Home Corporation, Simon Property Group and Spieker Properties; a group comprised of the dominant participants in the real estate service sector, CB Richard Ellis Services, Jones Lang LaSalle and Trammell Crow Company; Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, both as investor through its private equity funds, and as advisor to Project Constellation through its real estate and technology banking units; and Chase H&Q Capital Partners, a strategic affiliate of Chase Capital Partners. Collectively, the total capital commitment of the founding members is $135 million.
The real estate founders of Project Constellation own and/or manage approximately $250 billion of institutional quality real estate across the office, retail, apartment and industrial sectors. Project Constellation is positioned to benefit from its founders’ size and scope as a result of the direct access the company will have to the deal flow, due diligence expertise, beta-testing platforms and senior management of these companies. “Given the composition of its membership base, Project Constellation will be able to quickly assess the merit of any real estate-related technology opportunity and provide the necessary resources to position the resulting products or enterprises as market leaders,” says Craig Vought, co-chief executive officer of Spieker Properties. “The idea is to bring the members’ expertise, relationships and organizational strength to bear, not simply capital.”
A press teleconference will be held today at 10:00 a.m. EST. The call will be led by CEOs and senior representatives of the founding members of Project Constellation – Hamid Moghadam of AMB Property Corp; David Helfand of Equity Office Properties Trust; Douglas Crocker II of Equity Residential Properties Trust; Glen Barnard of Kaufman & Broad Home Corporation; Craig Vought of Spieker Properties; Stuart Scott of Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc.; George Lippe of Trammell Crow Company; Jay Mantz of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds; Hoke Slaughter of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter; Andrew Kahn of Chase H&Q Capital Partners; and David Gilbert of Chase Capital Partners.
Media in the U.S. can participate in this conference by calling 1-888-318-6429. The security access code for the press teleconference is 05350.
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Project Constellation’s founding membership not only includes the leading owners, managers and developers of real estate, but also those that have been most progressive in sponsoring real estate technology initiatives and companies. To date, founding members own, have created or have significant investments in over 20 real estate technology companies (separate and apart from Project Constellation), ranging from procurement exchanges to e-tailing concerns to broadband providers. “A fundamental premise behind Project Constellation is the mobilization of industry leadership,” says David Simon, chief executive officer of Simon Property Group, “Each of the companies involved in this effort have long perceived the application of technology as critical to their respective businesses.”
Tim Callahan, president and chief executive officer of Equity Office Properties Trust added, "In addition to size and scope, the members of this consortium bring intellectual capital to the table. We have all dedicated internal resources toward identifying and pursuing new opportunities in the real estate technology arena. Now, we will be able to extend our reach into these efforts. Participation in the consortium will enable each of us to leverage our existing capabilities and engage in activities that complement our individual initiatives."
Added Hamid Moghadam, CEO of AMB Property Corporation, “The new economy is all about collaboration. With respect to Project Constellation, collaborative sponsorship has created a tremendous network effect, giving the company unparalleled ability to pursue vertical and horizontal opportunities, as well as influence the winners in one of the largest, most fragmented industries in existence.”
The company expects to establish its headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area and will have its own management team, which is presently being assembled.
ABOUT AMB PROPERTY CORPORATION
AMB Property Corporation (NYSE: AMB) is one of the leading owners and operators of industrial real estate nationwide. As of March 31, 2000, AMB owned and managed 67.5 million square feet and 734 buildings and centers in 26 U.S. metropolitan markets, including 5.2 million square feet and 95 industrial buildings owned with institutional investors through its subsidiary AMB Investment Management.
In addition, AMB owns a majority limited partnership interest in an unconsolidated joint venture that owns 36 buildings containing 4.0 million square feet in Chicago and AMB Investment Management manages 4.5 million square feet on behalf of institutional investors. For additional information about AMB Property Corporation, visit the AMB website at www.amb.com.
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ABOUT EQUITY OFFICE PROPERTIES TRUST
Equity Office Properties Trust (NYSE: EOP) is the nation’s largest publicly held owner and manager of office properties with a national portfolio of 294 buildings comprising 77 million square feet in 23 states and the District of Columbia. Equity Office’s efforts to redefine the workplace reflect the
company’s commitment to create work environments that breed success. On February 11, 2000, Equity Office announced a merger agreement, subject to shareholder approval, with Cornerstone Properties, Inc., a New York-based real estate investment trust (REIT), and owner of 86 Class A office properties and other real estate comprising 18.5 million square feet in major metropolitan markets across the United States. For more information about Equity Office, visit the EOP website at www.equityoffice.com.
ABOUT EQUITY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES TRUST
Equity Residential Properties Trust (NYSE: EQR) is the largest publicly traded apartment company in America. Equity Residential owns or has an interest in 1,050 properties consisting of 223,490 apartment units. The company combines the resources of a large national corporation with strong local management to own, operate and develop properties in 35 states. For additional information about Equity Residential Properties Trust, visit the EQR website at www.eqr.com.
ABOUT KAUFMAN & BROAD HOME CORPORATION
Kaufman & Broad Home Corporation (NYSE: KBH) is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the Company has operating divisions in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. Kaufman & Broad S.A., the Company’s majority owned subsidiary, is also on of the largest homebuilders in France. For further information please visit the KBH website at www.kbhomes.com.
ABOUT SIMON PROPERTY GROUP
Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE: SPG), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust which, through its subsidiary partnerships, is engaged in the ownership, development, management, leasing, acquisition and expansion of income-producing properties, primarily regional malls and community shopping centers. It currently owns or has an interest in 257 properties containing an aggregate of 184 million square feet of gross leasable area in 36 states and five assets in Europe. Together with its affiliated management company, Simon owns or manages approximately 189 million square feet of gross leasable area in retail and mixed-use properties. Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. are paired with beneficial interests in shares of stock of SPG Realty Consultants, Inc. Additional Simon Property Group information is available at www.shopsimon.com.
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ABOUT SPIEKER PROPERTIES, INC.
Spieker Properties, Inc. (NYSE: SPK), a publicly traded real estate company, owns and operates over 40 million square feet of commercial real estate in California and the Pacific Northwest. The company’s principal objective is sustainable long-term growth in earnings through the acquisition, development, and management of high-quality office and industrial properties in select western United States markets. For additional information about Spieker Properties, Inc., visit the SPK website at www.spieker.com.
ABOUT CB RICHARD ELLIS
CB Richard Ellis (NYSE: CBG) is one of the world’s leading real estate services companies. Headquartered in Los Angeles with 10,000 employees worldwide, the company serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through nearly 250 principal offices in 36 countries. Services include property sales and leasing, property management, corporate services and facilities management, mortgage banking, investment management, capital markets, appraisal/valuation, research and consulting. CB Richard Ellis had 1999 revenues of $1.2 billion. For additional information, please visit the CB Richard Ellis’ website at www.cbrichardellis.com.
ABOUT JONES LANG LASALLE
Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL) is one of the world’s leading real estate services and investment management firms, operating across more than 100 key markets on five continents. The company provides comprehensive integrated expertise, including property and corporate facility management, transaction services and investment management core services on a local, regional and global level to owners, occupiers and investors. It operates through five business segments: Hotel Services, Investment Management and three geographic regions of Owner and Occupier Services. LaSalle Investment Management, the company’s investment management business, is the world’s second largest and most diverse real estate investment management firm, with $21.5 billion of assets under management. Jones Lang LaSalle also is the industry leader in property and corporate facility management services, with a portfolio of approximately 700 million square feet under management worldwide. For additional information, please visit the Jones Lang LaSalle website at www.joneslanglasalle.com.
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ABOUT TRAMMELL CROW COMPANY
Trammell Crow Company (NYSE: TCC), founded in 1948, is one of the largest diversified commercial real estate services companies in the United States. Through 170 offices in the United States and Canada, Trammell Crow Company is organized to deliver management services, transaction services and development and project management services to both corporate and institutional customers. The company’s current portfolio comprises 520 million square feet of managed and/or leased space, which includes approximately 157 million square feet of corporate facilities and more than 10 million square feet of regional malls. The company is a leading provider of facilities management and other outsourcing services to 85 corporate clients, with over 2,100 employees servicing 25,000 properties. For additional information, please visit the TCC website at www.trammellcrow.com.
ABOUT THE CHASE MANHATTAN CORPORATION
The Chase Manhattan Corporation is one of the largest bank holding companies in the United States. Chase Capital Partners (CCP) is a global private equity partnership with over $15 billion under management. CCP has been a leading provider of private equity capital since its inception in 1984 and is a diversified investor with significant interests in most major industries. To date, CCP has closed more than 950 individual transactions in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Since 1998, CCP has invested more than $450 million of equity in the acquisition of approximately $2 billion of real estate investments. CCP’s primary limited partner is The Chase Manhattan Corporation. Chase H&Q Capital Partners is a strategic affiliate of CCP and a leading investor in the technology sector. With respect to real estate technology initiatives, Chase H&Q Capital Partners is supported by Chase’s real estate and technology practices. For more information, please visit CCP’s website at www.chasecapital.com.
ABOUT MORGAN STANLEY REAL ESTATE PRIVATE EQUITY
Morgan Stanley Real Estate Private Equity (www.msdw.com/realestate/equity ) is the real estate private equity business of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and one of the leading global real estate investors. Since its inception in 1991, funds managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Private Equity have invested over $3 billion of equity in almost $17 billion of assets and companies around the world. Morgan Stanley Real Estate Private Equity manages a group of funds that invest in real estate assets, public and private real estate operating companies and other real estate-related opportunities.
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Safe Harbor Statement under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Although Project Constellation believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Project Constellation expectations include general economic conditions, future performance of investments, additional financing requirements, the effect of economic conditions on the Internet market and other uncertainties. For further information on these and other factors that could impact the companies mentioned above and the statements contained herein, reference should be made to each founding member’s filings, as relevant, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including their annual reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.
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