High-end computing supplier Silicon Graphics Inc. faces the same set of problems these days roiling most erstwhile high-tech darlings: mounting losses, a pummeled stock price and an increasingly unappetizing balance sheet. Not surprisingly, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company–making a mark recently with its animation technology contributions to box office hits Monsters Inc. and The Lord of the Rings–spends almost as much time these days developing new ways to cut costs and improve its return on equity as it does making computer-generated effects.

Of course, the first cuts involved the standard spinoffs and selloffs. But SGI also found unexpected, underperforming assets just sitting around taking up square footage, so to speak: the seven Silicon Valley office buildings housing the company's operational headquarters. "Apart from providing the physical space for the company, it wasn't bringing in anything," explains Michael Hirahara, SGI's vice president of facilities. "We wanted to monetize these assets."

So SGI brought in Cushman & Wakefield Inc.'s Michael Rotchford, senior managing director for structured finance, who helped put together a deal that allowed SGI to sell the seven office buildings for $276 million, lease back six and take the assets off its balance sheet–a big advantage to any company concerned with improving performance as measured by ROE. The most lengthy of these leases–one for four of the buildings–ends in 12 years, with subsequent options to renew and rents starting below market before escalating.