I use to work in a conglomerate that I did not associate with real estate. After working there for a few years and becoming friends with some people in the corporate real property division, I realized they randomly own a ton of land everywhere and that real estate is just a useful core part of any conglomerate. It's a nice place to park assets, obtain rent, and to rent for offices yourself.

I imagine a lot of conglomerates and large companies do this, because at a certain scale, it's more of a "why not?" question.