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NV Energy building in Las Vegas sold for $33M

NV Energy has a new landlord.

Moonwater Capital founder Ofir Hagay bought the power company’s Las Vegas headquarters at 6226 W. Sahara Ave., near Jones Boulevard, for $33.35 million.

The sale closed July 10, property records show.

The purchase is among the most notable commercial property deals in Southern Nevada since the coronavirus pandemic upended daily life and devastated the local economy with casino shutdowns and other business closures in March.

“I think this is a recession-proof, COVID-proof business,” Hagay said of the utility, which has served Southern Nevada since 1906.

NV Energy spokeswoman Jennifer Schuricht said the power provider is aware of the sale and does not expect the transaction to affect operations there.

The utility, owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, is a regulated monopoly, providing electricity to about 90 percent of the state.

Its triangle-shaped headquarters was built in 1982, county records show. According to Hagay, the four-story building spans 292,180 square feet.

He bought the property from Lexington Realty Trust, records show. The New York-based real estate company did not respond to a request for comment.

Hagay, an Israeli native who lives in Las Vegas, owns other office buildings in the valley. He said he worked on the NV Energy headquarters deal for nearly two years and went under contract to buy the building in March, after Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered casinos and other Nevada businesses closed that month to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

He worried the crisis would derail the deal but indicated his deposit was protected if financial-market turmoil prevented him from closing the sale.

According to Hagay, NV Energy’s annual rent for the building is about $3 million, and the company has nearly 10 years left on its lease, with options to extend.

“When you play Monopoly, this is what you want,” he said. “You want to buy the utility company, the electric company, because that’s an investment that always pays back.”

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.

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