Sage Realty Selling 767 Third Avenue to Quantum Pacific for $88M

In a transaction Scott Bakula would be proud of, a U.K.-based investor just made a “quantum leap” across the pond to buy a Midtown office tower. 

Sage Realty is selling 767 Third Avenue to London-based Quantum Pacific for $88 million, Commercial Observer has learned. The deal marks Quantum’s first foray into the Manhattan commercial real estate market. 

Eastdil Secured’s Gary Phillips and Will Silverman negotiated the sale, which is now under contract, sources said. Financing is currently being arranged, and the transaction is expected to close next month.

Quantum Pacific didn’t immediately return requests for comment. Sage Realty and Eastdil Secured declined to comment. 

In May, The Real Deal reported that Sage Realty was looking to offload the property, which rises 40 stories, boasts East River views and sits close to Grand Central Terminal. The Kaufman family — the family behind Sage Realty — built 767 Third Avenue in 1981, and renovated the building’s lobby and amenity center in 2019, per TRD. At the time the building was marketed for sale, its occupancy sat at around 50 percent, potentially leaving the door open for a future residential conversion by a new owner. 

The office building at 767 Third Avenue was one of Sage’s six Manhattan office buildings, along with 747 Third Avenue, 777 Third Avenue, 437 Madison Avenue, 77 Water Street and 2 Gansevoort Street. 

“I learned from my grandfather [William Kaufman] that each building is a submarket unto itself, but we’re making certain bets around the properties,” Sage CEO Jonathan Kaufman Iger said of Sage’s portfolio in a recent interview with CO. 

Quantum Pacific is a holding company founded by shipping, mining and sports billionaire Idan Ofer. Ofer owns stakes in Portuguese soccer team Famalicão, as well as Spanish Premier League team Atlético Madrid, but 767 Third Avenue is Ofer’s most recent “Gooaaaaall!” 

It is the latest of a long line of buyers brought into Manhattan deals for the first time this year by Eastdil’s Phillips and Silverman. Others include Gucci owner Kering, Uniqlo, Bushburg, Prada and  Ingka Group. 

Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com