Douglas Emmett Plans Record-Breaking IPO

Los Angeles trophy landlord Douglas Emmett Inc. has filed for a $1.1 billion initial public offering

Los Angeles trophy landlord Douglas Emmett Inc. has filed for a $1.1 billion initial public offering in hopes that the recent spate of privatizations in the office sector has created a demand for public real estate investment trusts strong enough to set a new capital raising record for a REIT, investors said.

Over $10 billion in shares of office REITs have disappeared from the public markets in the past year, with Arden Realty, CarrAmerica and Trizec all taken private. Equity Office Properties also recently initiated a share repurchase program that has brought the disappearing shares total for pure play office REITs to about $12 billion, according to analysts.