Subject: International (INTL)

Houston Business Journal Construction is underway on a 116,500-square-foot medical-office building in Houston. Healthpeak Properties Inc. is developing the five-story property at 7500 Fannin St. It already is 36 percent preleased and will include a parking garage that's being built ...

Auction.com has formed a venture that will provide it access to some 2.6 million Chinese-speaking investors in China and elsewhere around the world. Its venture with Juwai.com, a Chinese property listing service, will allow it to market its property listings ...

By John Covaleski, Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Writer Vico Capital of Ireland, a private equity investor with $2 billion under management, is seeking trophy office investments in major U.S. markets. It is scouting for property in Washington, D.C., New ...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff ReportApollo Real Estate Advisors has raised $630 million for investment in real estate in India. The New York investment firm is partnering with India's Sun Group to manage the investment vehicle, called Sun-Apollo Real Estate ...

An investment fund put together by Goldman Sachs and Perry Real Estate Partners has paid $237 million for the 413-room Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino in Aruba.The property was acquired from Plant Hotel NV, an Aruban hotel owner whose ...

Conference sessions on commercial real estate collateralized debt obligations don't only draw crowds in the United States.The Commercial Mortgage Securities Association, which drew some 450 attendees to its first stand-alone conference on CDOs in the U.S., attracted nearly 200 attendees ...

The Mills Corp. has agreed to sell its interest in three of its shopping centers for $981 million, allowing it to raise $500 million of net proceeds.The three properties, Vaughan Mills in Ontario, Canada, St. Enoch Centre in Glasgow, Scotland ...

The Japanese real estate company is developing an investment management platform, including in the United States, through which it will make core and value-add investments on behalf of Japanese institutional investors.

The 10-year veteran of GE, who built the firm's mortgage-lending unit into a $7 billion-a-year business, is moving to Royal Bank of Canada where he'll start a conduit-lending unit.

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff ReportHypo Real Estate Bank International has issued a $341.4 million synthetic CMBS transaction backed effectively by debt on three office buildings in the United States.The transaction, Estate US-1, is structured in a way that allows ...

Commercial Mortgage Securities Association's Europe chapter, CMSA-Europe, has formed an Investors Forum that will be open solely to investors of CMBS in Europe.Like the Investors Forum in the United States, the European forum would provide a venue through which bond ...

Morgan Stanley is planning to issue $2.9 billion of CMBS backed by loans on office buildings, hotels and other real estate in Japan, according to a report by Bloomberg.The transaction would be among the largest of its kind, if not ...

GE Real Estate has committed to invest $20 million in the Citic Capital Vanke China Property Development Fund, a vehicle that would make investments in China's apartment market.The investment marks GE's first investment in China's commercial real estate market. The ...

Morgan Stanley will shift its international real estate investment focus increasingly to China this year, according to a report on Bloomberg.The investment bank, which just completed raising $4.2 billion of equity for Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund V International, expects ...

A team of real estate investment bankers in Asia has jumped to Goldman Sachs from UBS, according to FinanceAsia.com.The five-person team, led by Michael Smith, head of real estate at UBS, gives Goldman a substantial presence in Asia, which is ...

Gale Co., which is selling its New Jersey real estate to Mack-Cali Realty Corp. in a $545 million transaction, said it would use proceeds from the deal to fund an investment vehicle that would pursue international real estate.The deal will ...

Eric Kaufman, who heads a pair of boutique real estate firms, is making a play on China. He's looking to raise between $100 million and $500 million to invest in Chinese commercial real estate and the debt markets.

Wachovia Securities is planning to expand its commercial mortgage business to Europe.The company plans to originate and securitize mortgages throughout the continent and will provide repurchase-agreement financing in England and Germany.Managing director Bill Cohane will lead Wachovia's securitization and REPO/warehouse ...

Rockpoint Group has opened offices in London and Frankfurt, Germany.The opportunistic investment firm, which late last year raised $1.7 billion for its second investment fund, has hired Rhys Lewis as director of acquisitions in London. Lewis was previously with Moorfield ...

Newmark & Co. has struck an agreement with Knight Frank, which bills itself as the world's largest real estate consultant, allowing both companies to expand their global reach.Combined, the two companies handle $41 billion of transactions annually, with revenue topping ...

A $200 million investment vehicle managed by RioCan REIT and capitalized by TIAA-CREF and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System is finishing its investment period.The fund, RioCan Retail Value LP, has purchased 12 shopping centers with 3.4 million square feet ...

California Public Employees' Retirement System, already an active investor in overseas real estate markets, is making a push to invest in South America.The massive pension fund has partnered with Hines on HCB Interests LP, a fund that would have the ...

Lone Star Funds is planning to cash out of some of its Japanese investments by selling interests in them through the stock market. According to a report on Bloomberg, the Dallas opportunistic investment firm is planning an initial public offering ...

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Chicago Tribune (second item)Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust Inc. paid $43 million for a 1 million-square-foot distribution center in Ottawa, Canada. Trammell Crow Co. represented the seller, a development joint venture that includes Rosemont, Ill.-based McShane Cos. The property ...