Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT Completes Acquisition of DreamWorks Animation's Headquarters and Studios Campus

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., July 23, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Griffin Capital Corporation ("Griffin Capital") announced today, on behalf of Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT, Inc. ("GCEAR"), the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation's Headquarters and Studios Campus, a five-building, 460,000 square foot property (the "Property"), located in Glendale, California, at a purchase price of $215 million. The Property was acquired from SunTrust Equity Funding, LLC and is fully leased to DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. ("DreamWorks Animation") pursuant to an absolute net lease with approximately 20 years of remaining lease term and 1.5% annual base rental rate increases. DreamWorks Animation is an industry-leading animation studio responsible for generating such critically-acclaimed and commercially successful movie franchises as Shrek, Madagascar, How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda.

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Originally constructed in 1997 as a build-to-suit headquarters for the tenant, the Property was expanded in 2010 and features timeless Tuscan-inspired architecture within a self-contained creative office campus which includes such amenities as an employee cafeteria, training rooms and on-site Starbucks.  The Property also houses all the infrastructure essential in the animated feature film business including state-of-the-art digital animation and editing equipment, motion capture and sound recording studios and a sizeable screening room. Located in the Tri-Cities submarket, the Property sits at the epicenter of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, minutes from other major studios including Warner Bros. Studios, Walt Disney Studios and Universal Studios. 

Commenting on the acquisition, Louis Sohn, Griffin Capital's Director of Acquisitions, stated, "We are pleased to acquire a truly one-of-a-kind asset, with a rich array of high-quality improvements that are not typically seen at an office campus."

Michael J. Escalante, Griffin Capital's Chief Investment Officer, added, "DreamWorks Animation, led by Jeffrey Katzenberg, is legendary in the field of animated feature films, and has enjoyed a long track record of commercial and critical success. We welcome the addition of their world class, creative office campus, which is located in the heart of Los Angeles' Media Studio District, to the GCEAR portfolio."

The seller of the Property was represented by the CBRE Shannon Team.   

About Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT and Griffin Capital Corporation

Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT, Inc. is a publicly registered non-traded REIT with a portfolio that currently includes 71 office and industrial distribution properties totaling approximately 16.43 million rentable square feet. The REIT's sponsor is Griffin Capital Corporation ("Griffin Capital"), an investment and asset management company headquartered in Los Angeles. Led by senior executives each with more than two decades of real estate experience collectively encompassing over $20 billion of transaction value and more than 650 transactions, Griffin Capital and its affiliates have acquired or constructed approximately 41 million square feet of space since 1995. Griffin Capital and its affiliates own, manage, sponsor and/or co-sponsor a portfolio consisting of approximately 26.5 million square feet of space, located in 29 states, representing approximately $4.5 billion in asset value. Additional information about Griffin Capital is available at www.griffincapital.com.

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