NNN's Thompson Raises $15M Fund, Eyes OC Deals

Orange County Business Journal, Apr 28-May 4, 2008 by Mueller, Mark

Tony Thompson's absence from commercial real estate only lasted about 70 days.

Thompson, founder of Santa Ana's Triple Net Properties LLC, this month kicked off his latest real estate investment venture: Thompson National Properties LLC.

The Irvine-based company plans to buy distressed commercial real estate for individual and institutional investors. Early plans call for several hundred million dollars to be raised for the company's first fund. So far, about $15 million has been raised.

Thompson National Properties plans to focus its search on properties in the 15 biggest metropolitan areas in the country. Orange County "is definitely a possibility" for deals, Thompson said.

The company should close its first acquisition next month for a property in Texas, according to Thompson.

Fundraising is likely to follow similar patterns of Thompson's last gig. Triple Net and offshoot NNN Realty Advisors raised close to $3 billion during the past 10 years.

Thompson was one of the pioneers of tenant-in-common deals that primarily involved 1031 exchanges, which pool together investors to buy more expensive properties. Hundreds of smaller companies have tried their hands at the complicated tenant-in-common transactions in recent years, leaving analysts worried that some less experienced deal sponsors will be the hardest hit by the downturn in commercial real estate.

But that could prove to be a source of business for Thompson National Properties.

"We will look at any deals that have gone bad, including TlCs," Thompson said.

Thompson's last deal at Triple Net and NNN Realty was his biggest-he completed an acquisition of Chicago-based brokerage Grubb & ElHs Co. last December.

Shortly after completing the deal, Thompson stepped down as chairman of the combined company, which now is based in Santa Ana.

"I'm still the second largest shareholder at Grubb, so of course, I hope the company does extremely well. I'm just cheering from the sidelines now," Thompson said.

Not all executive departures from Grubb & Ellis have gone smoothly.

Last month, Grubb & Ellis settled a lawsuit it filed against Newport Beach-based investor Core Realty Holdings LLC, regarding former Triple Net employees who went on to work at Core Realty. The lawsuit contended that some employees took electronic files containing confidential information to their new jobs.

The settlement calls for Core Realty to pay Grubb & Ellis as much as $3 million during the next 36 months, according to a filing with the securities and Exchange Commission.

Thompson National Properties counts about 15 employees at its Main Street headquarters. It also has offices in Denver and Las Vegas.

Among the company's management team is vice chairman and partner Jack Maurer. He cofounded Triple Net in 1998 and was its chief financial officer until 2001.

Another high-profile hire: Cade McNown, senior vice president of investor relations who's also the former quarterback for the NFL's Chicago Bears.