The Goldman Sachs tower at 30 Hudson St. in Jersey City
By Joshua Burd
A new Merck & Co. spinoff is moving to the Goldman Sachs tower in Jersey City, where it’s reportedly set to occupy 110,000 square feet for its global headquarters.
The pharmaceutical giant confirmed this week that the spinoff, Organon & Co., will be based at 30 Hudson St. after the completion of a planned initial public offering next year. A company spokeswoman declined to provide additional details, but a source familiar with the transaction said its space will total roughly 110,000 square feet across three floors.
What’s more, Business Insider reported Monday that the women’s health spinoff will occupy the space under an agreement with WeWork, the embattled co-working and flexible office space firm, under a deal set to last more than five years. The report identified WeWork as the lessee in the deal with Goldman, while noting Merck will serve as the guarantor of the lease.
Additional details about the transaction were not immediately available. Goldman, which opened the 42-story tower in 2004 as part of a high-profile move into Jersey City, has been marketing several floors for sublease in recent years as it has continued to trim its footprint.
Newmark Knight Frank has served as the listing agent for 30 Hudson, a roughly 1.5 million-square-foot building, one of several large blocks available in the Hudson waterfront submarket. That will make the Organon deal all the more important for Jersey City and state officials, who see life sciences as a growth sector for New Jersey.
CoStar News was the first to report the company’s plan to move to 30 Hudson.
Merck announced earlier this year that it would spin off its women’s health, legacy brands and biosimilar businesses. The company spokeswoman, Kate Vossen, said Organon would occupy 30 Hudson “upon the transaction close planned for the first half of 2021.”
With Merck serving as the guarantor of the lease, Business Insider noted that it would be on the hook financially for security or termination payments to the landlord if WeWork exits the space before the expiration of the lease. The publication highlighted the deal as a positive sign for WeWork’s enterprise business and an opportunity to avoid a large liability, following a year of financial turmoil that included a failed IPO.
