Project Constellations founding membership
includes the three largest public real estate companies and the
three largest real estate service companies by total market capitalization.
Founding members include: AMB Property Corporation, Equity Office
Properties Trust, Equity Residential Properties Trust, Kaufman &
Broad Home Corporation, Simon Property Group and Spieker Properties;
a group comprised of the dominant participants in the real estate
service sector, CB Richard Ellis Services, Jones Lang LaSalle and
Trammell Crow Company; Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, both as investor
through its private equity funds, and as advisor to Project Constellation
through its real estate and technology banking units; and Chase
H&Q Capital Partners, a strategic affiliate of Chase Capital Partners.
Collectively, the total capital commitment of the founding members
is $135 million.
The real estate founders of Project Constellation
own and/or manage approximately $250 billion of institutional quality
real estate across the office, retail, apartment and industrial
sectors. Project Constellation is positioned to benefit from its
founders size and scope as a result of the direct access the company
will have to the deal flow, due diligence expertise, beta-testing
platforms and senior management of these companies. "Given the composition
of its membership base, Project Constellation will be able to quickly
assess the merit of any real estate-related technology opportunity
and provide the necessary resources to position the resulting products
or enterprises as market leaders," says Craig Vought, co-chief executive
officer of Spieker Properties. "The idea is to bring the members
expertise, relationships and organizational strength to bear, not
simply capital."
A press teleconference will be held today
at 10:00 a.m. EST. The call will be led by CEOs and senior representatives
of the founding members of Project Constellation Hamid Moghadam
of AMB Property Corp; David Helfand of Equity Office Properties
Trust; Douglas Crocker II of Equity Residential Properties Trust;
Glen Barnard of Kaufman & Broad Home Corporation; Craig Vought of
Spieker Properties; Stuart Scott of Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc.; George
Lippe of Trammell Crow Company; Jay Mantz of Morgan Stanley Real
Estate Funds; Hoke Slaughter of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter; Andrew
Kahn of Chase H&Q Capital Partners; and David Gilbert of Chase Capital
Partners.
Media in the U.S. can participate in this
conference by calling 1-888-318-6429. The security access
code for the press teleconference is 05350.
Project Constellations founding membership
not only includes the leading owners, managers and developers of
real estate, but also those that have been most progressive in sponsoring
real estate technology initiatives and companies. To date, founding
members own, have created or have significant investments in over
20 real estate technology companies (separate and apart from Project
Constellation), ranging from procurement exchanges to e-tailing
concerns to broadband providers. "A fundamental premise behind Project
Constellation is the mobilization of industry leadership," says
David Simon, chief executive officer of Simon Property Group, "Each
of the companies involved in this effort have long perceived the
application of technology as critical to their respective businesses."
Tim Callahan, president and chief executive
officer of Equity Office Properties Trust added, "In addition to
size and scope, the members of this consortium bring intellectual
capital to the table. We have all dedicated internal resources toward
identifying and pursuing new opportunities in the real estate technology
arena. Now, we will be able to extend our reach into these efforts.
Participation in the consortium will enable each of us to leverage
our existing capabilities and engage in activities that complement
our individual initiatives."
Added Hamid Moghadam, CEO of AMB Property
Corporation, "The new economy is all about collaboration. With respect
to Project Constellation, collaborative sponsorship has created
a tremendous network effect, giving the company unparalleled ability
to pursue vertical and horizontal opportunities, as well as influence
the winners in one of the largest, most fragmented industries in
existence."
The company expects to establish its headquarters
in the San Francisco Bay Area and will have its own management team,
which is presently being assembled.
ABOUT AMB PROPERTY CORPORATION
AMB Property Corporation (NYSE: AMB) is
one of the leading owners and operators of industrial real estate
nationwide. As of March 31, 2000, AMB owned and managed 67.5 million
square feet and 734 buildings and centers in 26 U.S. metropolitan
markets, including 5.2 million square feet and 95 industrial buildings
owned with institutional investors through its subsidiary AMB Investment
Management.
In addition, AMB owns a majority limited
partnership interest in an unconsolidated joint venture that owns
36 buildings containing 4.0 million square feet in Chicago and AMB
Investment Management manages 4.5 million square feet on behalf
of institutional investors. For additional information about AMB
Property Corporation, visit the AMB website at www.amb.com.
ABOUT EQUITY OFFICE PROPERTIES TRUST
Equity Office Properties Trust (NYSE:
EOP) is the nations largest publicly held owner and manager of
office properties with a national portfolio of 294 buildings comprising
77 million square feet in 23 states and the District of Columbia.
Equity Offices efforts to redefine the workplace reflect the companys
commitment to create work environments that breed success. On February
11, 2000, Equity Office announced a merger agreement, subject to
shareholder approval, with Cornerstone Properties, Inc., a New York-based
real estate investment trust (REIT), and owner of 86 Class A office
properties and other real estate comprising 18.5 million square
feet in major metropolitan markets across the United States. For
more information about Equity Office, visit the EOP website at www.equityoffice.com.
ABOUT EQUITY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES TRUST
Equity Residential Properties Trust (NYSE:
EQR) is the largest publicly traded apartment company in America.
Equity Residential owns or has an interest in 1,050 properties consisting
of 223,490 apartment units. The company combines the resources of
a large national corporation with strong local management to own,
operate and develop properties in 35 states. For additional information
about Equity Residential Properties Trust, visit the EQR website
at www.eqr.com.
ABOUT KAUFMAN & BROAD HOME CORPORATION
Kaufman & Broad Home Corporation (NYSE:
KBH) is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Headquartered
in Los Angeles, the Company has operating divisions in Arizona,
California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. Kaufman & Broad
S.A., the Companys majority owned subsidiary, is also on of the
largest homebuilders in France. For further information please visit
the KBH website at www.kbhome.com.
ABOUT SIMON PROPERTY GROUP
Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE: SPG),
headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a self-administered and
self-managed real estate investment trust which, through its subsidiary
partnerships, is engaged in the ownership, development, management,
leasing, acquisition and expansion of income-producing properties,
primarily regional malls and community shopping centers. It currently
owns or has an interest in 257 properties containing an aggregate
of 184 million square feet of gross leasable area in 36 states and
five assets in Europe. Together with its affiliated management company,
Simon owns or manages approximately 189 million square feet of gross
leasable area in retail and mixed-use properties. Shares of Simon
Property Group, Inc. are paired with beneficial interests in shares
of stock of SPG Realty Consultants, Inc. Additional Simon Property
Group information is available at www.shopsimon.com.
ABOUT SPIEKER PROPERTIES, INC.
Spieker Properties, Inc. (NYSE: SPK),
a publicly traded real estate company, owns and operates over 40
million square feet of commercial real estate in California and
the Pacific Northwest. The companys principal objective is sustainable
long-term growth in earnings through the acquisition, development,
and management of high-quality office and industrial properties
in select western United States markets. For additional information
about Spieker Properties, Inc., visit the SPK website at www.spieker.com.
ABOUT CB RICHARD ELLIS
CB Richard Ellis (NYSE: CBG) is one of
the worlds leading real estate services companies. Headquartered
in Los Angeles with 10,000 employees worldwide, the company serves
real estate owners, investors and occupiers through nearly 250 principal
offices in 36 countries. Services include property sales and leasing,
property management, corporate services and facilities management,
mortgage banking, investment management, capital markets, appraisal/valuation,
research and consulting. CB Richard Ellis had 1999 revenues of $1.2
billion. For additional information, please visit the CB Richard
Ellis website at www.cbrichardellis.com.
ABOUT JONES LANG LASALLE
Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL) is one
of the worlds leading real estate services and investment management
firms, operating across more than 100 key markets on five continents.
The company provides comprehensive integrated expertise, including
property and corporate facility management, transaction services
and investment management core services on a local, regional and
global level to owners, occupiers and investors. It operates through
five business segments: Hotel Services, Investment Management and
three geographic regions of Owner and Occupier Services. LaSalle
Investment Management, the companys investment management business,
is the worlds second largest and most diverse real estate investment
management firm, with $21.5 billion of assets under management.
Jones Lang LaSalle also is the industry leader in property and corporate
facility management services, with a portfolio of approximately
700 million square feet under management worldwide. For additional
information, please visit the Jones Lang LaSalle website at www.joneslanglasalle.com.
ABOUT TRAMMELL CROW COMPANY
Trammell Crow Company (NYSE: TCC), founded
in 1948, is one of the largest diversified commercial real estate
services companies in the United States. Through 170 offices in
the United States and Canada, Trammell Crow Company is organized
to deliver management services, transaction services and development
and project management services to both corporate and institutional
customers. The companys current portfolio comprises 520 million
square feet of managed and/or leased space, which includes approximately
157 million square feet of corporate facilities and more than 10
million square feet of regional malls. The company is a leading
provider of facilities management and other outsourcing services
to 85 corporate clients, with over 2,100 employees servicing 25,000
properties. For additional information, please visit the TCC website
at www.trammellcrow.com.
ABOUT THE CHASE MANHATTAN CORPORATION
The Chase Manhattan Corporation is one
of the largest bank holding companies in the United States. Chase
Capital Partners (CCP) is a global private equity partnership with
over $15 billion under management. CCP has been a leading provider
of private equity capital since its inception in 1984 and is a diversified
investor with significant interests in most major industries. To
date, CCP has closed more than 950 individual transactions in North
America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Since 1998, CCP has invested
more than $450 million of equity in the acquisition of approximately
$2 billion of real estate investments. CCPs primary limited partner
is The Chase Manhattan Corporation. Chase H&Q Capital Partners is
a strategic affiliate of CCP and a leading investor in the technology
sector. With respect to real estate technology initiatives, Chase
H&Q Capital Partners is supported by Chases real estate and technology
practices. For more information, please visit CCPs website at www.chasecapital.com.
ABOUT MORGAN STANLEY REAL ESTATE PRIVATE EQUITY
Morgan Stanley Real Estate Private Equity
(www.msdw.com/realestate/equity
) is the real estate private equity business of Morgan Stanley Dean
Witter and one of the leading global real estate investors. Since
its inception in 1991, funds managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate
Private Equity have invested over $3 billion of equity in almost
$17 billion of assets and companies around the world. Morgan Stanley
Real Estate Private Equity manages a group of funds that invest
in real estate assets, public and private real estate operating
companies and other real estate-related opportunities.
Safe Harbor Statement under Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995
The statements contained in this press release that
are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Although
Project Constellation believes that the expectations reflected in
such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions,
it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
Project Constellation expectations include general economic conditions,
future performance of investments, additional financing requirements,
the effect of economic conditions on the Internet market and other
uncertainties. For further information on these and other factors
that could impact the companies mentioned above and the statements
contained herein, reference should be made to each founding members
filings, as relevant, with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including their annual reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 1999.
For More Information, Please Contact:
Chuck Kaiser, Edelman Worldwide
(312) 240-2729