DLA Piper served as lead counsel to Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. and Menora Mivtahim Insurance Ltd. in a joint venture with Beacon Investment Properties LLC to acquire Minneapolis’ IDS Center.

Purchased from Inland American Real Estate Trust for US$253 million, the 57-story IDS Center includes as its tenants some of the Twin Cities’ top law firms, including DLA Piper, as well as several retailers and restaurants. The 1.4 million square foot architectural landmark is the tallest office tower in Minnesota.

The DLA Piper team representing Harel and Menora was led by Naftali Weg and included Jeremy Lustman, Michael Bedke and Leslie Schillig.

This is the latest in-bound US real estate transaction handled by DLA Piper on behalf of Israeli institutional investors. In 2012, the firm served as lead counsel to eight significant in-bound US real estate transactions with an aggregate deal value of US$862 million. The uptake in Israeli-US transaction volume follows DLA Piper’s strategic decision to implement a focused Israel Practice Group nearly four years ago, led by Lustman, who spends much of his time in Israel. The firm now represents more than 10 Israeli real estate clients, in addition to a broader client base of more than 80 Israeli investors and companies.

http://www.dlapiper.com/dla-piper-represents-harel-and-menora-in-acquisition-of-minneapolis-ids-center-05-02-2013/