Harvard Endowment's Real Estate Sale to China Falls Through

Harvard University will not sell a portion of its real estate holdings to China's sovereign wealth fund after efforts to broker a deal with the $300 billion fund broke down, according to a report in Bloomberg this afternoon.

The University had been seeking to unload a portion of its real estate portfolio since at least February, and the Chinese Investment Corporation had been rumored as a potential buyer.

The University has declined to discuss the deal, but according to media reports the assets sold would have been valued at several hundred million dollars.

During the recent financial crisis, the endowment suffered heavy losses on real estate, a portion of the portfolio that became difficult to convert to cash as many market players sought to increase their liquidity.

After heavy losses in fiscal year 2009, the endowment grew in value by 11 percent according to a report released yesterday by the University. Last year, though, the fund continued to be weighed down by its real estate holdings, which did not meet Harvard Management Company's internal benchmarks.

—Check TheCrimson.com for more updates.