Commercial real estate giant O&Y Properties Corp. put itself and its real estate investment trust on the block Tuesday with a price tag that could surpass $2 billion.

O&Y owns directly, and indirectly through its 42-per-cent stake in O&Y REIT, 24 office properties across Canada. The properties, totalling 9.8 million square feet, are located in seven major cities.

In Ottawa, O&Y owns more than 1.9-million square feet of gross leasable space, representing about 29 per cent of its overall office portfolio. That space is comprised of Jean Edmonds Towers and Place de Ville towers I and II located downtown.

It also has an indirect interest in Toronto's First Canadian Place. The 72-storey office building is considered the premier office address in Canada.

O&Y also has a subsidiary that operates as a third party real estate services provider, O&Y Enterprise.

Company CEO Philip Reichmann, son of company co-founder Albert Reichmann, said it is the largest portfolio of properties ever put up for sale in Canada.

"We believe that the timing is right and that the market-trading price of both O&Y Properties and the unit O&Y REIT do not reflect the underlying value of the property portfolio," Mr. Reichmann told the media during a conference call.

Brookfield Properties Corp., another name well known in local commercial real estate circles, confirmed Tuesday it could be interested in tendering to O&Y's call for buyout offers.

Brookfield is owner of the World Financial Center in New York and BCE Place in Toronto and is itself 48-per-cent owned by Toronto-based conglomerate Brascan Corp.

Market watchers suggest other potential bidders could be the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Boston Properties Inc. or open-ended funds in Germany or Israel seeking a quick foothold in the Canadian market.