Chicago — General Growth Properties has approved a plan to spin-off 30 malls to a newly formed entity, Rouse Properties, Inc. Rouse is expected to qualify as a real estate investment trust and be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The new Rouse portfolio will consists of 21.1 million square feet, and the portfolio is currently 87.7 percent leased. The portfolio includes centers in a mix of primary and secondary markets, such as The Boulevard Mall in Las Vegas; Collin Creek in Plano, Texas; Chula Vista Center in San Diego; Cache Valley Mall in Logan, Utah; Birchwood Mall in Port Huron, Mich.; and Bayshore Mall in Eureka, Calif. The company said in a statement that while other divestiture options were considered, the spin-off best enables shareholders to participate in the upside potential of these centers. Shareholders of GGP common stock will receive a taxable special divided, expected to be comprised of common stock in Rouse Properties.
COSTA MESA, CALIF. — Costa Mesa-based shopping center developer Donahue Schriber has successfully completed the final piece of a $1.2 billion balance sheet recapitalization, which occurred through several transactions. The final deal was a $365 million refinance with a bank syndicate led by Bank of America and also included Wells Fargo Bank, U.S. Bank, PNC Bank, Union Bank and City National Bank. “The recapitalization was the culmination of digging out from the ‘Great Recession,’” says Patrick S. Donahue, president & CEO of Donahue Schriber. “Like many others in the industry we were affected greatly but were able to weather the storm. So after we came through, we made a list of what we needed. We looked at our debt, where our maturities were too short and our covenants too restricted, and we also needed to convert stock and develop growth capital.” The refinance covers a portfolio of 31 of Donahue Schriber Realty Group’s assets. The new financing has a term of five years with a built-in option for a two-year extension, a lower interest rate and eliminates many of those restrictive covenants Donahue refers to. Countryside Marketplace is a 724,000 square-foot Donahue Schriber shopping center in Menifee, CA anchored by …
NEW YORK CITY — American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust (ARC Healthcare) has entered into a contract to acquire 12 healthcare facilities for $257.5 million. The deal includes three rehabilitation hospitals, two ambulatory surgery center/medical offices, two hospital/medical office buildings, three post-acute care rehabilitation facilities, one long-term acute care hospital, and one medical office building. These 12 assets total 765,038 square feet. “Our latest acquisition is very reflective of the strategy for this REIT, being well diversified within the healthcare field, both from an asset and geographic standpoint,” says Todd Jensen, chief investment officer for ARC Healthcare. “Our investment strategy is focused on newer, high-quality assets, and the average age of these 12 properties is less than two years.” The portfolio is approximately 93 percent leased to 49 tenants. Only about 16 percent of the tenants, based upon occupied square feet, have lease expirations prior to December 31, 2016, and nearly 45 percent of the tenants have lease terms expiring more than ten years from the projected closings. These properties boast predominantly long-term, triple-net leases with contractual annual rent increases across six different types of healthcare assets. National and regional healthcare tenants dominate the rent roll, with more than a third …
With Thomas R. McOsker REBusinessOnline recently interviewed Thomas R. McOsker, who runs the Tax Receivables Brokerage division of GFI Group, a wholesale brokerage firm. Pools of tax liens trade on GFI’s DART (Distressed Asset Receivables Trading) platform. Wall Street has begun trading pools of tax liens to modernize the old courthouse auction, saving time and money — and providing some investors the possibility of acquiring properties at a fraction of their value. REBO: What are Tax Liens or Tax Receivables? McOsker: A tax lien is a public claim against the tax revenue owed by a tax paying entity on a particular property. These receivables are backed by the underlying property as collateral. In their various forms, tax liens are some of the oldest forms of municipal debt in existence, with history dating back 150 years in some United States jurisdictions, and even further back in Europe. The average size of a lien of this kind in the U.S. is estimated to be around $2,500. REBO: Why are tax liens important? McOsker: Local municipalities and county infrastructures rely heavily upon the collection of ad valorem real estate taxes, which are linked to the value of parcels within their geographical boundaries. Seventy-five …
LAKE BLUFF, ILL. — Northbrook, Ill.-based Prime Property Investors has purchased Deer Valley Apartments, a 224-unit multifamily community located in Northbrook, from San Francisco-based Stockbridge Capital group for an undisclosed amount. Situated on 13.5 acres, the Class A, garden-style community consists of 13 buildings, 52 enclosed parking garages, and a recently renovated clubhouse containing a fitness center and a swimming pool with a sun deck. The unit mix is 120 one-bedroom units and 104 two-bedroom units. Occupancy was 98 percent at the time of closing. The acquisition price was not released.
SAN FRANCISCO AND DENVER — After stockholders of both companies approved on June 1, San Francisco-based AMB Property Corporation (NYSE: AMB) and Denver-based ProLogis (NYSE: PLD), completed their merger, for which a definitive agreement was signed on January 31, 2011. Upon completion of the merger, the two companies combined to form the publicly traded Prologis, Inc. The common stock of the combined company is now trading under the symbol PLD on the New York Stock Exchange as of Friday, June 3. The company's corporate headquarters are in San Francisco, and the company's operations headquarters are in Denver. Prologis, Inc. is structured as an UPREIT. More than 498 million, or 87.4 percent, of ProLogis' outstanding shares were voted, with approximately 99.6 percent of those voted in favor of the merger proposal. With the merger now in effect, each ProLogis common share has been exchanged into 0.4464 of a newly issued common share of AMB, while each share of AMB common stock remains as one share of the combined company's common stock. Former ProLogis common equity holders hold approximately 60 percent of the combined company's common stock, and former AMB common equity holders hold approximately 40 percent. The combined company boasts more …
STOCKTON, CA — San Joaquin Partnership has announced that Michael S. Ammann will serve as president and CEO of the economic development organization starting June 15. Ammann is a past president of Solano Economic Development Corporation and has more than 25 years of experience in economic development. He was selected by the Partnership’s Board of Directors, which is composed of publicly elected officials and private business leaders who are based in San Joaquin County. San Joaquin Partnership is a non-profit, public-private organization.
NEW YORK CITY — Savanna, a New York-based real estate private equity and asset management firm, has taken title to 100 Wall Street, a 29-story, 504,000-square-foot Class A office building in Manhattan’s Financial District. In March 2011, an affiliate of Prudential had purchased the mezzanine loan — which was in default — and subsequently sold it to Savanna for $7.5 million. After acquiring the mezzanine loan, Savanna initiated a UCC foreclosure, which was completed in May 2011. Savanna then took 100 percent fee ownership and assumed the $117 million first mortgage loan. “In the past 10 months, Savanna has acquired a number of terrific office buildings in Manhattan, including 386 Park Avenue South, 104 West 40th Street, 5 Hanover Square, 1375 Broadway and the debt secured by 80 Broad Street,” says Nicholas Bienstock, a co-managing partner of Savanna, which pursues real estate equity and debt asset invesetments throughout the Northeast, focusing on directly owning and operating properties in New York City and the Washington, D.C. metro area. “Most of these acquisitions involved the purchase of defaulted debt as an initial entry point into the deal, and 100 Wall Street is another example of Savanna stepping into the fee ownership of …
CHICAGO — Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: BEE) has signed a letter agreement to acquire the 49 percent interest in the InterContinental Chicago hotel currently owned by its joint venture partner, an affiliate of The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC). The ownership interest will change hands in exchange for approximately 10.8 million shares of common stock at an agreed upon issuance price of $6.50 per share and $11.8 million of cash consideration plus closing adjustments for working capital. According to the company, the transaction values the hotel at $288.3 million, or $364,000 per key. Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. CEO Laurence Geller said in a statement that the impetus to acquire this ownership interest is based on upside potential for the property, which is located at 505 N. Michigan Ave. at the heart of the Magnificent Mile. Because of what he called “virtually zero growth among its competitive set,” Geller said the InterContinental Chicago “is poised to meet and possibly surpass previous peak performance levels.” “The InterContinental Chicago is a core asset in our portfolio,” added Gellar. “With this transaction, we are able to preserve our ownership on attractive terms, while singularly benefiting from the tremendous upside inherent …
GAINESVILLE AND JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Memphis, Tenn.-based MAA has acquired two apartment complexes in Florida for a total of $42.8 million. The 204-unit The Retreat at Magnolia Parke Apartments, located in Gainesville, has a movie theater, resort style swimming pool and game room. The 200-unit Atlanta Crossing, located in Jacksonville, has a high-end clubhouse with cyber cafe, Internet lounge, a fitness center and a pavilion with gas grills. The acquisitions were funded by borrowings under existing credit facilities and common stock issuances through MAA's at-the-market program.