During the second half of 2006 and first half of 2007, both the pace and size of real estate deals rapidly increased. Many transactions looked like corporate mergers and acquisitions compared to traditional single real estate asset transactions. Large portfolio deals quickly became the norm with the Blackstone Group’s $36 billion acquisition of Equity Office Properties, the nation’s largest commercial landlord, reported as the largest leveraged buyout in history. In addition to portfolio deals, large single-building acquisitions and sales followed suit, with expedited due diligence periods for the buyer’s investigation becoming as short as five days.

To read the full text of this piece, please click on the PDF.