7101 Wisconsin Ave., left, and 4550 Montgomery Ave., right. Via Google Street View
Two downtown Bethesda buildings sold
The Donohoe Cos. and USAA Real Estate purchased 7101 Wisconsin Ave., the tinted glass office building that borders Leland Street, for $105.7 million, according to The Washington Business Journal. Donohoe leased two floors in the building in 2016. Donohoe’s president, Chris Bruch, told the Business Journal this week that the development company is the largest tenant in the 231,000-square-foot building.
In another major transaction reported this month, MRP Realty and Rockpoint Group sold part of Montgomery Tower, a 12-story building at 4550 Montgomery Ave., to an affiliate of Paris-based AXA Equitable Financial Services for $140 million, according to the Business Journal.
Both sales come as the downtown Bethesda real estate market is seeing an uptick in leasing and sales after the completion of the Downtown Bethesda Master Plan and the announcement by Marriott that it will move its headquarters to a complex being developed at 7550 Wisconsin Ave.
Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell to merge with accounting firm
The Bethesda-based accounting firm Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell (CBM) announced this week it will merge with another Bethesda firm, May & Barnhard on Nov. 1 to bring on the firm’s tax and finance expertise. The new firm will have 82 staff members and 10 partners.
CBM has handled audits, tax services and accounting for auto dealerships, developers and not-for-profits since 1921.
“Our merger will provide a new depth of resources for existing clients and broaden our service capabilities to include additional tax expertise, expand our litigation support services and provide long-term financial planning and consulting,” Peter B. Reilly, president and managing partner of CBM, said in a statement.
This is the second merger for CMB this year. In June, the firm brought on William Blumenauer, a sole-practitioner, to bolster its professional services group to serve attorneys and other individuals.
Regenxbio’s deal to buy Dimension Therapeutics nixed
Rockville-based biotech company Regenxbio had a deal in place over the summer to purchase the Massachusetts gene therapy and biotechnology company Dimension Therapeutics in an all-stock deal.
But this week, a new offer emerged for Dimension outpacing Regenxbio’s offer. The new offer from Ultragenyx is worth $6 per share, or about $151 million—higher than Regenxbio’s previous offer of $3.41 per share, according to the industry website BioPharmaDive.
Regenxbio will not match the offer, according to the report, and will instead receive a $2.85 million termination fee, under the terms of its initial agreement with Dimension. Dimension’s board has recommended the new deal with Ultragenyx to its shareholders.