Maguire May Purchase CommonWealth Buildings

Los Angeles real estate investment trust Maguire Properties Inc. is close to an agreement to buy most of a 6-million-square-foot portfolio of office properties in the Western U.S. from CommonWealth Partners for about $1.5 billion, real estate sources said Wednesday.

CommonWealth, a Los Angeles real estate investment and development firm, has been marketing its 13 properties for months, attracting the interest of several large real estate investors such as Irvine Co., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Hines and Equity Office Properties Trust.

Included in the portfolio are such signature buildings as 777 Tower at 8th Street and Figueroa Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles, 801 N. Brand Blvd. in Glendale and Pacific Arts Plaza in Costa Mesa. Commonwealth also has properties in San Diego, Arizona, Texas and Hawaii.

CommonWealth and Maguire representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Maguire Properties was founded in 1965 by developer Robert F. Maguire III. It has developed several office buildings, mostly in downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Maguire took the company public in 2003, raising $800 million. Shares rose 34 cents to $24.54 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

CommonWealth was founded in 1995 by former senior managers of Maguire and is investment partners with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and Rockefeller Group.