The Firm is representing Blackstone Real Estate Partners in connection with its agreement to acquire the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) from 233 S. Wacker LLC for $1.3 billion. The purchase price is the highest price ever paid for a U.S. office tower outside of New York and surpasses the previous Chicago record by over $400 million.
The tower was the tallest building in the world from 1973 to 1998 and is presently the second-tallest building in North America and the twelfth-tallest in the world.
The Simpson Thacher team includes Greg Ressa, Erik Quarfordt, Whitney Salinas, Frank Mangiatordi and Jason Mohr (Real Estate); John Hart, Jordan Tamchin and David Holmberg (Tax); Greg Grogan, Jeanne Annarumma, Andrew Blau and Jeemin Chung (Employee Benefits); Lori Lesser (Intellectual Property) and Chris Hultman and David Caldwell (Regulatory).