Beacon earns its bacon by collecting offices. A private real estate investment trust (REIT), Beacon Capital Partners invests in, renovates, and operates commercial and mixed-use properties in major metropolitan markets throughout the US. Beacon also has properties in London and Paris. It buys properties that can be improved through redevelopment, repositioning, or through managing the capital markets, after which it sells its holdings at a profit. The company manages investment funds on behalf of institutional, corporate, and government investors. Beacon Capital Partners was formed in 1998 after predecessor public REIT Beacon Properties merged with Equity Office Properties Trust in a $4 billion transaction.