Ana G. O'Brien

Ana O’Brien is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins, Global Co-Chair of the REIT Industry Group, and Chair of the Los Angeles office’s Tax Department. Her practice focuses primarily on the federal taxation of REITs, corporations, and partnerships in a variety of US and international contexts.

Ms. O’Brien advises clients on tax issues associated with:

• Mergers and acquisitions
• Securities offerings
• Financing transactions
• Joint ventures

Ms. O’Brien regularly speaks on tax issues related to real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other tax matters.

In the capital markets area, Ms. O’Brien has represented numerous issuers and investment banks in connection with IPOs and other transactions, including those for:

• American Assets Trust, Inc. 
• Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. 
• Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. 
• Digital Realty Trust, Inc. 
• Essex Property Trust, Inc. 
• Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. 
• Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. 
• Kilroy Realty Corporation
• Kimco Realty Corporation 
• Realty Income Corporation
• Redwood Trust, Inc. 
• Safehold, Inc. 
• Simon Property Group
• Spirit Realty Corporation 
• Ventas, Inc. 

In the mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures area, Ms. O'Brien has in recent years represented:

• Digital Realty Trust in its US$1.7 billion acquisition of a 55% interest in Teraco Data Environments, a South African colocation and data center services provider, and related joint venture arrangements
• Digital Realty Trust in its US$1.8 billion acquisition of Ascenty Data Centers e Telecomunicações, a premier Brazilian data center provider
• Digital Realty Trust in its US$1.2 billion joint venture with Brookfield Infrastructure to invest in Ascenty Data Centers e Telecomunicações
• Invitation Homes in its agreement to form a US$375 million venture and subsequent US$300 million venture with Rockpoint Group
• Realty Income Corporation in its US$50 billion merger with VEREIT
• Cole Office & Industrial REIT II in its US$4.9 billion merger with Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT
• Digital Realty Trust in its US$8.4 billion acquisition of Interxion, creating a leading global provider of data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions
• Simon Property Group in its US$3.4 billion acquisition of Taubman Centers, and acquisition of an 80% stake in Taubman Realty Group
• Digital Realty Trust in its US$1.4 billion sale and joint venture of hyper-scale data centers with Maple Tree Investments and Mapletree Industrial Trust
• Eastdil Secured in its joint venture and recapitalization with Temasek and certain institutional clients of Guggenheim Investments
• BRE Properties in its US$15.4 billion merger of equals with Essex Property Trust
• Digital Realty Trust in its US$7.6 billion acquisition of DuPont Fabros Technology
• Spirit Realty Capital in its US$7.4 billion merger with Cole Credit Property Trust II
• Spirit Realty Capital in its US$3 billion spin-off and creation of a new public company, MTA REIT
• Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II (special committee) in its US$4 billion sale to NorthStar Realty Finance Corp.
• Hudson Pacific Properties in its sale of a 49% interest its Hollywood media portfolio to Blackstone Property Partners
• Hudson Pacific in its acquisition of a US$3.7 billion portfolio from The Blackstone Group
• Hudson Pacific Properties in its joint ventures with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for multiple Class A properties
• Hudson Pacific Properties in connection with its up to US$475 million joint venture with Macerich to redevelop the Westside Pavilion in Los Angeles
• Realty Income Corporation in its US$2.95 billion acquisition of American Realty Capital Trust
• MPG Office Trust in its US$2.3 billion merger with an affiliate of Brookfield
• Digital Realty Trust in its US$1.89 billion acquisition of Telx
• Digital Realty Trust in its US$874 million acquisition of eight high-quality, carrier-neutral data centers in Europe from Equinix
• Special Committee of Apollo Residential Mortgage in its US$641 million merger with Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance
• Digital Realty Trust in its US$369 million joint venture with Prudential Real Estate Investors and its US$187.6 million joint venture with Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT
• CoreCivic (f/k/a Corrections Corporation of America) in its US$157.5 million acquisition of Avalon Correctional Services

• Considerations for REITs in Adopting a Poison Pill in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis -  June 02, 2020
• IRS Relaxes Stock Dividend Safe Harbor for Publicly Offered REITs and RICs in 2020 -  May 18, 2020
• IRS Issues Proposed Regulations on Business Interest Deduction Limitations -  December 19, 2018
• Qualified Opportunity Funds: Investment and Structuring Considerations -  November 07, 2018
• US Tax Reform: Key Business Impacts, Illustrated With Charts and Transactional Diagrams -  January 10, 2018
• Congressional Tax Reform Proposals: Rethinking Key Business Decisions -  December 02, 2017
• IRS Provides Guidance on Stock Distributions for Publicly Offered REITs and RICs -  August 18, 2017
• Treasury Department Issues Final Regulations on Real Property Definition for REIT Purposes -  September 12, 2016
• Congress Enacts Significant Changes to the REIT and FIRPTA Rules -  December 23, 2015
• New Treasury Regulations Make it Easier to Issue Tack-On Bonds or Loans -  October 06, 2015
• IRS Proposes Guidance on Real Property Definition for REIT Purposes -  May 01, 2014
• IRS to Resume Work on REIT Conversion Ruling Requests -  November 22, 2013
• New Treasury Regulations Put Issuers at Increased Risk for Cancellation of Indebtedness Income in Debt-for-Debt Exchanges -  September 20, 2012
• IRS Proposes New Regulations Defining "Public Trading" -  January 10, 2011
• Significant Tax Provisions In Newly Enacted Health Care Reform Legislation -  April 2, 2010
• President Signs HIRE Act, Enacting Foreign Account Tax Compliance Provisions Along With Hiring Incentives -  March 24, 2010
• Revenue Procedure 2010-12 Extends Guidance Allowing Real Estate Investment Trusts to Preserve Cash While Satisfying Distribution Requirements -  January 5, 2010
• Tax Extenders Act of 2009 Would Tax Income and Gain From Certain Partnership Interests as Ordinary Income -  December 10, 2009
• Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 Introduced in Congress -  November 12, 2009
• The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) and Its Impact on the Commercial Real Estate Market: The Financing Opportunity -  July 9, 2009
• Significant Business-Related Tax Law Changes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 -  February 18, 2009
• Revenue Procedure 2008-68 Enables Real Estate Investment Trusts to Preserve Cash While Satisfying Distribution Requirements -  December 10, 2008

• Topics in Distressed Debt -  January 23, 2012
• Tax Provisions in Taxable Private Company Acquisition Agreements: Tax Representations & Warranties, Covenants and Indemnities -  January 24, 2011
• Failing and Failed Businesses –Considerations under Sections 108 and 382 -  January 25, 2010