San Juan Capistrano-based Birtcher Anderson Realty, led by local real estate veterans Arthur Birtcher and Bob Anderson, finalized its acquisition of Newport Beach-based Davis Partners at the start of the year.
The combination of the two firms bring their joint total commercial footprint to nearly 11 million square feet.
The acquisition has been about two years in the works, notes Principal Bob Thiergartner, and is “the result of a long-term relationship between myself and Bob Anderson.”
The deal combines both firm’s real estate investment, development and property management operations.
“Art and I look forward to applying the vision we share with [Davis Partners] to add to the size and strength of our investment and management services platforms,” said Anderson, co-chairman and principal of the new company.
SJC Based
Thiergartner joined Davis Partners in the 1980s, and became sole owner of the firm when company founder William Davis retired.
The company builds, buys and manages commercial buildings, specifically industrial business parks and office properties throughout Southern California.
Birtcher Anderson, meanwhile, over the past decade or so has largely operated out of the area. It owns and manages numerous commercial properties outside of OC and the state, and also manages properties and investment funds on behalf of other private and public entities.
The fifth-generation family company was founded in 1939.
The Birtcher family is one of OC’s better-known real estate families. Art Birtcher’s brother, developer Ronald Birtcher—the father of Birtcher Development’s Brandy Birtcher—died last year at age 89.
Birtcher Anderson & Davis will be led by co-chairman Birtcher and Anderson, Thiergartner and Daniel Karcher, previously president of Davis Partners.
The company will keep its headquarters in San Juan Capistrano and will retain Davis Partners’ office in Newport Beach, to be used for administrative purposes and the company’s property management arm.
The combined company employs about 130 in Orange County.
Industrial Investments
The combination of the two firms is expected to increase the group’s access to capital, with several investment deals already underway.
“The formation of Birtcher Anderson & Davis has substantially increased the size of our property management platform and enhances our investment business due to both companies’ shared interest in operating and owning light industrial and business park properties,” said Senior Vice President Jeff Eales, who first joined Birtcher Anderson in 1997.
It recently closed on three projects with an institutional equity partner, including a 600,000-square-foot industrial portfolio in Dallas-Fort Worth; a 350,000-square-foot industrial portfolio near Los Angeles; and a 10-acre land parcel in the Inland Empire that will make way for a ground-up, 191,000-square-foot industrial project.
The company has existing projects in California, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and Florida, and has eyes on expanding into the Colorado market soon.
“We would love to buy in Orange County, but for now, there’s a real lack of land available for development,” Thiergartner said.
