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HOUSTON, TX - HOUSTON – Simmons & Company International (SCI) has renewed and expanded its lease to more than 60,000 square feet at Bank of America Center in downtown Houston, according to officials with The Novati Group. SCI will occupy all of floors 18 and 19 in the building.
Founded in May 1974, SCI is currently one of the largest investment banking practices serving the energy industry, operating offices in Houston, Boston, London, Aberdeen, Scotland; and Oslo, Norway. In 1984, when the SCI office outgrew its space at Pennzoil Place, it relocated to the then new Bank of America Center as one of the building’s first tenants. When it once again outgrew its space this past year, SCI management faced a decision it found easy to make.
“We were faced with the prospect of having to move out, in a tightening market, of what I still consider to be one of the top buildings of its kind, not only in Houston but in any of our large cities,” said Matthew R. Simmons, SCI chairman and founder.
With its focus on the energy industry, the company could have easily chosen to relocate its Houston office to the Energy Corridor of West Houston.
“None of our employees wanted to leave this building,” said Mike Frazier, SCI president and CEO. “Fortunately, after looking at various alternatives, both downtown and elsewhere, we were able to sign this lease for the space that will accommodate our growth as we enter our fourth decade of energy investment banking.”
Louis B. Cushman of Cushman & Wakefield represented SCI in the transaction. The landlord was represented by John Spafford, senior vice president of PM Realty Group and Bill McFarland, vice president of The Novati Group.
Designed by noted architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, Bank of America Center offers 1.3 million square feet of office space. The office tower, located at 700 Louisiana St., was completed in 1983.
Bank of America Center was purchased in the summer of 2007 by a joint venture of Dallas-based Novati Group and an affiliate of the General Electric Pension Trust, advised by GE Asset Management.
About Simmons & Company International
Simmons & Company is the only independent investment bank specializing in the entire spectrum of the energy industry. Founded in 1974, the firm has acted as financial advisor in over $122 billion of transactions, including 510 merger and acquisitions worth over $88 billion. Simmons has served as co-manager on over $30 billion in public debt and equity offerings. During 2007 Simmons closed 49 M&A transactions worth $26 billion and co-managed 10 offerings worth $4.9 billion. The firm's clients range from small, privately held companies to multi-billion dollar public entities.
About Novati Group
The Novati Group (“Novati”) is a Dallas-based asset management firm focused on real estate and alternative investment strategies. Novati was launched, in early 2007, with a sponsoring investment by Moriah Investment Partners, by principals formerly of Hines, Crescent Real Estate Equities, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and CityView America, a CalPERS investment advisor.
About GE Asset Management
GE Asset Management Incorporated (“GEAM”) is the exclusive real estate advisor to the General Electric Pension Trust, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the General Electric Company. GEAM is a global asset manager with $198 billion in assets under management, $7 billion of which is invested equity in real estate assets (as of 9/30/07). GEAM and its predecessor organizations have been managing investments for GE's U.S. employee pension and benefits plans for more than 75 years. In 1988, GEAM began offering investment management products and services to investors outside GE, and today counts corporate and public plan sponsors, foundations, endowments, healthcare organizations, Taft-Hartley plans, insurance companies, and individual investors around the world as clients. Investment offerings cover all major asset classes, including U.S. and international equities, fixed income and alternative assets. GE Investment Distributors, Inc., Member FINRA & SIPC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Asset Management Incorporated. | 
