(July 7): Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer, is partnering with Columbia Property Trust Inc. to create a US$1.26 billion ($1.73 billion) joint venture for US real estate.

The German insurer contributed an office tower at 114 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan that’s valued at US$220 million to the partnership, Allianz’s real estate unit said in a statement Thursday. Columbia added University Circle, a US$540 million office complex in Palo Alto, California, and 333 Market St., an office tower in San Francisco’s financial district valued at US$500 million.

“Our investment in this joint venture achieved our immediate goal of acquiring premier office assets in core locations on the West Coast,” Christoph Donner, chief executive officer of Allianz Real Estate of America, said in the statement. The partnership with Columbia “is a win-win situation. It is rare to find an investment partner of their caliber with objectives so closely aligned with ours.”

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