BLUE SKY INVESTS IN NEW YORK OFFICE TOWER

BLUE Sky Alternative Investments (ASX: BLA) has made a significant property purchase in Manhattan through a New York City-based company it has invested in. 

Cove Property Group and Blue Sky's joint-venture investment vehicle will acquire an office tower located in Manhattan, which will be added to Brisbane-based Blue Sky's broader portfolio.

The purchase is said to represent an important milestone in Blue Sky's US operations.

The transaction value exceeds $280 million and is expected to settle within the next two months, with the majority of the equity provided by a US-based institutional investor.

Blue Sky holds a 38 per cent economic interest in Cove Property Group, which was established in 2015 to acquire and manage commercial real estate assets with an initial focus on investment opportunities in New York City.

Cove Property Group's team is said to have significant experience repositioning older assets and transforming them to achieve significant uplifts in rental yield and tenant quality.

Blue Sky does not anticipate the transaction will have any material impact on guidance in relation to its full-year 2016 earnings of $14 million to $16 million, or its fee-earning assets under management which it expects will exceed $2 billion at June 30, 2016.

Pictured: Blue Sky Alternative Investments founder and managing director Mark Sowerby.