New_York

NEW YORK — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) has divested two New York-based properties for a total of $642.8 million, which will be used to partially fund the pending acquisition of the 11 Madison Ave. office building. The company sold Tower 45, a 440,000-square-foot office building at 120 W. 45th St., for $365 million. SL Green also agreed to sell 80 percent of its ownership interest in a 73,000-square-foot, mixed-use asset located at 131-137 Spring St. in SoHo to Invesco Real Estate. SL Green will retain a 20 percent ownership interest in the SoHo property and will continue to manage and lease the asset. The transaction is valued at $277.8 million. SL Green will acquire the 11 Madison Ave. office building for a reported $2.6 billion. The Art Deco-style building serves as the U.S. headquarters for Sony and Credit Suisse AG. “As illustrated by these transactions, the demand for high-quality commercial assets in the Manhattan market continues to be very strong, even as interest rates have risen in recent months,” says Andrew Mathias, the company’s president. “After repositioning both of these assets to unlock additional value, we will realize in excess of $400 million of net cash proceeds from …

PRINCETON, N.J. and NEW YORK CITY — Chambers Street Properties (NYSE: CSG) has agreed to buy Gramercy Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: GPT) in an all-stock deal valued at about $5.7 billion. The merger will create the largest industrial and office net lease REIT, according to the firms. The Board of Trustees of Chambers Street and the Board of Directors of Gramercy have unanimously approved the merger agreement and the transaction. Per the agreement, Gramercy shareholders will receive 3.18 shares of Chambers Street for each share of Gramercy common stock they own. Upon closing, Chambers Street shareholders will own about 56 percent and Gramercy shareholders will own about 44 percent of the combined company. The stock-for-stock transaction is expected to be tax free to shareholders. The combined portfolio includes 288 properties and 52 million square feet of space in major markets throughout the U.S. and Europe. About 85 percent of the merged company’s real estate assets will be in target markets such as New York/New Jersey, Dallas, Baltimore/Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and South Florida. The portfolio will have an average lease term of more than seven years, with 43 percent of the tenants being investment grade. “This strategic combination is the …