Company Portfolio Acquisitions Press Contacts
 

BENTLEY FORBES CONTINUES TO RESTRUCTURE PORTFOLIO FOR GROWTH; SELLS TWO ASSETS IN TRANSACTIONS TOTALING $20 MILLION


Firm Selling Smaller, Non-Core and Maturing Assets as it Expands Investment Focus to include Larger, Class A Properties; Sold Properties Include South Dakota Best Buy and Los Angeles Manufacturing Facility

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Nov. 5, 2003) – BENTLEYFORBES, the Los Angeles-based national real estate investment firm, recently completed the disposition of two properties in separate transactions totaling $20 million, announced C. Frederick Wehba II, president, BENTLEYFORBES. "As BENTLEYFORBES expands our portfolio of commercial properties, we will continue to review our holdings for maturing or non-core assets," said Wehba. " Once we identify these assets for disposition, we will use sale proceeds to fund further acquisitions. We are leveraging this strategy to streamline the structure of our portfolio, making room for acquisitions of larger, class A properties and portfolios of the same." According to Wehba, BENTLEYFORBES is positioned to double the value of its portfolio over the next two years to exceed $2.5 billion, with the expectation of completing approximately $500 million of new acquisitions by mid-year 2004. Wehba pointed to the firm’s recent $134 million acquisition of eight Sacramento-area class A office properties encompassing more than 700,000 square feet as an example of its new criteria for investment targets. Inline with the above described investment strategy, BENTLEYFORBES recently completed the following property sales: · The sale of a 200,000-square-foot manufacturing facility located at 5505 E. Olympic Boulevard in the city of Commerce. The property is fully leased to Gruma, the world’s leading producer of tortillas, for use in production of its Mission brand of tortillas. CDC Acquisitions, LLC, acquired the property in the transaction. · The sale of a 48,000-square-foot Best Buy retail facility located in the Western Mall at 2104 W. 41st Street in the city of Sioux Fallx, S.D. The facility is fully leased to Best Buy, a retailer of consumer electronics, home office equipment, entertainment software and appliances. EN South Dakota, LLC, acquired the property in the transaction. BentleyForbes/Dispositions Page 2-2-2 According to Chad Wehba, chief operating officer of BENTLEYFORBES, the firm is actively planning its growth strategy by "streamlining operations, adding senior executives experienced in investment, finance and portfolio management and expanding our relationships in the capital markets to include a wider scope of institutional lenders working with us to facilitate new transactions. Our access to significant internal and external capital, along with the subsequent need to broaden our investment criteria, is compelling us to refine our business practices as we move forward." He pointed to BENTLEYFORBES’ recent appointment of Executive Vice President Keith Bjelejac, a longtime finance executive with Office Depot and the California franchisee of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, as the type of expert the firm would be adding to help facilitate its growth. Mr. Bjelejac will leverage his extensive experience in corporate finance and operations that includes his oversight of programs and initiatives related to: mergers and acquisitions, real estate selection, operational efficiencies, human resources, technology, finance, investment, new market expansions, corporate growth and marketing.

< back | next >

Chicago, Illinois

Multi-Tenant
Class A Office
2.2 Million Square Feet

Washington, DC

Multi-Tenant
Class A Office
261,000 Square Feet

Dallas, Texas

Multi-Tenant
Class A Three
Building Property
418,604 Square Feet

Dallas, Texas

Multi-Tenant
19 Story Class A
Property
302,747 Square Feet

Atlanta, Georgia

Multi-Tenant
Trophy Class A
Property
1,287,997 Square Feet

Irving, Texas

397 Guest Rooms
28 Meeting Rooms
32,000 Square Feet
Meeting Space
176,000 Square Feet
Sports Club