Cyprus Firm Yoda PLC Acquires San Francisco's Iconic Transamerica Pyramid

Yoda PLC, a Cyprus-based investment firm, has agreed to acquire San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid and its two adjacent buildings for roughly $700 million, according to Green Street News, a figure picked up by Axios and The Real Deal. The pending transaction would be the priciest office sale in the city since 2021 and one of the largest since the start of the pandemic, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The sellers are developer Michael Shvo, Deutsche Finance America, and Munich-based private equity firm Deutsche Finance Group's institutional partner, German pension fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK). Shvo and Deutsche Finance America purchased the 48-story pyramid-shaped tower in late 2020 for $650 million. Shvo subsequently poured an additional $350 million into renovating the building before it reopened in 2024. "We bought the building just before COVID," Shvo said at the 2024 reopening. "We actually ended up closing on the building in 2020 for $650 million dollars. We invested another $350 million dollars in remastering this building. As I always said, $650 million for this building was a bargain."

Despite representing the second-largest office sale in the city in recent years, The Real Deal characterized the $700 million figure as a significant loss for BVK and its partners, given that the total investment in the property reached roughly $1 billion. At least one local developer disputed the $700 million figure entirely, telling The Real Deal he had heard the deal was closer to $1 billion. Bloomberg, which first reported the sale, had noted only that the purchase price was unknown and the deal had not been finalized at the time of reporting. Representatives for Yoda PLC, Shvo, Deutsche Finance America, and BVK did not return multiple requests for comment from Axios and The Real Deal.

For a building with deep roots in the city's identity, the pending sale carries particular weight. John Krizek, who served as PR manager for the Pyramid from 1968 to 1977, reflected on that significance when the tower reopened two years ago. "This is a very special place. The history of this site is so special to the city, to the west. We just had to honor that history," Krizek said.

Axios framed the sale within the broader recovery of San Francisco's commercial real estate market, linking it to gains driven by the AI boom. The transaction marks only the second ownership change in the Pyramid's 54-year history. The Yoda PLC sale would also surpass this year's previous Bay Area office benchmark: DivcoWest's $450 million acquisition of the 48-story tower at 101 California Street.

The Real Deal reported the deal under a caption identifying the Yoda PLC founder with two different spellings in its coverage, "Ioannis Papalekas" and "Ionnis Papelakas," and the correct form has not been independently confirmed. With the deal still pending, what Yoda PLC plans for one of San Francisco's most recognizable structures remains an open question.