MIAMI — iStar Financial has sold 5.6 acres of land in downtown Miami to Swire Properties for $41.3 million. The site, located at 700 and 701 S. Miami Ave., is zoned for three high-rise multifamily towers with office and retail space. Kelly P. Smith and Larry Stockton of Colliers Abood Wood-Fay represented the seller.
STOCKTON, CALIF. — Sears Holdings Corp. has opened its Stockton Direct Delivery Center, a 780,000-square-foot industrial center in Stockton. The company, which was formed when Sears and Kmart merged, is leasing the built-to-suit property from ProLogis. The property features 120 dock doors, 410 trailer spaces and more than 3,400 floor locations. Sears Holdings plans to utilize the facility to distribute home appliances, tractors, televisions and other large items to more than 104 Sears, Orchard Supply and Kmart stores in California, Nevada, Oregon and Utah. The center is expected to receive LEED Silver certification in spring 2009.
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — San Mateo, Calif.-based The Castle Group, dba Morrison Park Apartments LLC, recently acquired a $19.7 million, 4.4-acre site at 381 Stockton Ave. in San Jose for the development of Morrison Park Apartments. The four-story, 250-unit apartment complex was originally designed as a for-sale condominium property, but due to the economy the project has been converted to a rental housing property. Completion is slated for late 2010. Keith Claxton of NAI BT Commercial San Jose, along with Borelli Investments, represented the undisclosed seller in the land transaction.
NEW YORK — After several days of negotiations, Citigroup has walked away from its efforts to secure portions of Wachovia. The New York-based bank said in a released statement, “The dramatic differences in the parties' transaction structures and their views of the risks involved made it impossible to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.” Citigroup also announced that it is no longer asking that the Wells Fargo-Wachovia merger be enjoined, but the banking giant plans to seek legal claims against Wachovia and Wells Fargo for breach of contract and for tortuous interference with contract. Wachovia has reaffirmed its intentions to acquire Wachovia as a whole, including all banking assets, its brokerage business and its investment management business, in a stock-for-stock transaction. Unlike the initial Citigroup offering, the Wells Fargo transaction will not require financial assistance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Wells Fargo has submitted an application to the Federal Reserve Board in hopes of expediting the approval of the merger. The combined company will have $1.42 trillion in assets, $787 billion in deposits, 48 million customers, $258 billion assets under management in mutual funds, 10, 761 stores, 12,227 ATMs and 280,000 team members.
NEW YORK CITY — Wells Fargo & Co. has agreed to buy Wachovia Corp. for $15.1 billion, putting a wrench into a previously announced Citigroup deal. The deal will include acquisition of all of Wachovia’s assets — banking assets, its brokerage business and its investment management business. Wachovia’s board approved Wells Fargo’s offer Thursday night. Citigroup’s deal would have included the purchase of Wachovia’s banking operations, not its other divisions. “For Citigroup, this is a real loss,” says Cassandra Toroian, chief investment officer at Bell Rock Capital. “This was a deal that was going to save them as much as it was saving Wachovia.” Wells Fargo has been one of the few major banks who has remained profitable through the credit crisis, while Citigroup has posted more than $17 billion in losses in 2008. Wachovia shareholders will receive 0.1991 shares of Wells Fargo stock in exchange for each share of Wachovia stock. “This deal enables us to keep Wachovia intact and preserve the value of an integrated company, without government support,” said Robert Steel, chief executive officer with Wachovia, in a prepared statement. “The market presence and composition of our businesses, along with our service-oriented cultures, are extraordinarily complementary and …
WOODSTOCK, ILL. — Midland Equities LLC has sold Catalpa Commons, a 14,000-square-foot retail center located at 11605-11621 Catalpa Lane in Woodstock. Catalpa Commons Woodstock LLC has acquired the center. The single-story development is situated on a pad site adjacent to a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Tenants at the property include Cardinal Fitness and Great Clips. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Bank of America Corp. has agreed to buy Merrill Lynch & Co., the world’s largest retail brokerage, for $50 billion. In addition, Lehman Brothers Holdings has announced it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Bank of America has agreed to pay 0.8595 shares of Bank of American common stock for each Merrill Lynch share. The price is 1.8 times stated tangible book value. The bank is buying about $44 billion of Merrill’s common shares, as well as $6 billion of options, convertibles, and restricted stock units. James Ellman, portfolio manager at hedge fund Seacliff Capital, says the move gives Bank of America strength in areas where they were weak. “Now Bank of America has one of the best and largest retail brokerages in the country, one of the top investment banks in the world, and a large stake in one of the best investment managers in the world,” says Ellman. The deal has been approved by the directors of both companies. Three Merrill directors will join the Bank of America board. The transaction is expected to close first quarter 2009.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Hendricks & Partners (H&P) has brokered the sale of Woodstock, a 128-unit apartment community located at 712 Washington Dr. in Arlington. The seller, New Albany, Ohio-based The Bank of New York Trust Company, was represented by Mike Miller of H&P’s San Antonio office, and Tome Burns and Jay Gunn of the firm’s Dallas office. Brookfield, Wis.-based MLG Capital 2008 acquired Woodstock for an undisclosed amount.
DORAL, FLA. — Alex Wiegandt and Alicia Willen of Miami-based Keyes Co. have brokered the complex stock transfer and asset sale of a 17,265-square-foot automotive industrial building from Kingston Financial of Canada to private buyers for $3.25 million. The transaction was financed by Sun America Bank.
HACKENSACK, N.J. — New York City-based Meridian Capital Group has secured $16 million in acquisition financing for The Carlyle, a 13-story residential building located at 380 Prospect Avenue in Hackensack. The Class A multifamily property contains 128 units; property amenities include a 24-hour doorman, an outdoor swimming pool and underground parking. Terms of the loan include a 5.5 percent fixed rate for a 7-year term, with 3 years interest-only payments. Avi Weinstock and Chaim Tessler of Meridian’s New York office arranged the financing on behalf of the borrower, AKS Management. The lender was undisclosed.