Mori Enters U.S. with $650M Sale-Leaseback Deal

Japanese real estate developer and investor Mori Trust Group struck a deal with Liberty Mutual Insurance to buy two buildings and a 400-car parking garage in Boston for $650 million. The transaction is Mori’s first in the United States.

The two buildings at 10 Saint James Ave. and 75 Arlington St. total 825,000 square feet. Boston-based Liberty Mutual acquired the assets in 2006 for $481.5 million. After building a nearby tower in 2013, and moving many employees to the new office, the insurance company put the two buildings on the sale block. After closing, Liberty will lease the floors it occupies from Mori. The company currently occupies approximately 40% of the property.

“Those two buildings have become predominantly rental space,” said Liberty’s John Cusolito in September, when the assets were put on the market. “That’s not a business we’re in.”

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