Tech titan widens Bay Area real estate shopping spree with new deal
SUNNYVALE — Applied Materials has grabbed a chunk of property in Sunnyvale as the tech titan widens its shopping spree for South Bay properties near its headquarters.
With its most recent purchase, the semiconductor equipment maker has spent more than a quarter-billion dollars buying older Silicon Valley properties that could be suitable for modern offices or other future facilities.
Applied Materials has paid approximately $32.7 million for two office and research buildings at the corner of East Arques Avenue and De Guigne Drive in Sunnyvale, documents filed on March 21 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office show.
One of the two just-bought buildings has addresses of 929 and 935 East Arques Avenue while the other building has addresses of 306 and 310 De Guigne Road, according to county property records.
Together, the two buildings total 93,400 square feet. The East Arques building totals 58,700 square feet while the De Guigne building totals 34,700 square feet.
Santa Clara-based Applied Materials has been collecting smaller and older office and research buildings at Sunnyvale sites that are relatively near the tech company’s headquarters.
The company’s deals are a reminder that the companies that make up the Silicon Valley economy never march in lockstep.
While numerous high-profile tech companies have attempted to shrink the size of their respective footprints in the Bay Area, some tech companies are still actively attempting to find ways to expand their property holdings in the region.
Applied Materials has now spent at least $281.4 million in recent years to buy an assortment of properties in Sunnyvale.
The maker of equipment to produce semiconductors and displays has also turned to sublease deals to expand its footprint in its hometown of Santa Clara.
Applied Materials has subleased 246,000 square feet of space from Aruba Networks at 3333 Scott Boulevard in Santa Clara, taking that entire office building. The company also has subleased 122,000 square feet at 3325 Scott Boulevard from Palo Alto Networks.
The quest by Applied Materials to collect properties in Sunnyvale began in August 2018 when the tech firm paid $41.4 million for a building at 928 East Arques Avenue.
The largest single deal in the Applied purchasing efforts in Sunnyvale occurred in 2019 when the company paid $100.9 million for a tech campus of big office buildings leased to Apple with addresses ranging from 1050 through 1090 East Arques.
In July 2023, Applied Materials disclosed that it had struck a deal to buy the shuttered Fry’s Electronics site at 1077 East Arques, based on public records on file with county officials. However, as of March 20, that deal had yet to be completed.
With the most recent Applied Materials property purchase, it appears the tech giant might have bought the two buildings at a discounted price.
The $32.7 million that Applied Materials paid was 27.9% below the $45.3 million property value for the building as estimated in early 2023 by the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office.
The Sunnyvale property purchases could be poised to bolster the company’s plans for a huge new tech complex that Applied Materials is planning. The complex is known as the Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization Center.