Graham Winfrey
The amount of troubled US real estate rose roughly 40 percent in April, due largely to a higher volume of CMBS restructurings. New loan modification rules are said to have contributed to the $12.8bn of new distress observed last month, the largest increase so far this year.
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System’s real estate arm will reportedly be the lead equity partner with Related Companies for a $15bn development of Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, after Goldman Sachs Real Estate Principal Investment Area withdrew from the deal.
The trio of investors won the auction for bankrupt hotel chain Extended Stay with a $3.92bn bid, beating rival Starwood Capital and TPG.
Beacon Capital Partners has sold an 80 percent stake in a Washington DC office property to Edge Fund Advisors and HSBC Alternative Investments. The transaction marks the second major office investment made by Edge and HSBC in the past six months.
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) is reportedly considering listing part of its property assets in an initial public offering valued at up to $1bn.
Lehman Brothers Holdings has reportedly won court approval to restructure the debt load of apartment complex owner Archstone Smith. Lehman, which acquired Archstone with Tishman Speyer for $22bn in a 2007 take-private, had already restructured $485m of Archstone’s debt last March to ease the apartment owner’s liquidity problems.
With a wave of commercial real estate debt restructurings building, real estate veterans warn first time investors to be prepared for a steep learning curve and the impact of massive fees on returns.
The Chicago-based private equity real estate firm is reportedly raising up to $500m of equity to beef up its investment in Brazilian real estate, anticipating strong demand in the region due to the economy’s rapid growth.
Bill White, president of New York City’s Entrepid museum, has reportedly stepped down. The New York Attorney General's office had subpoenaed White’s firm about fees it received from City Investment Fund, the real estate investment platform established by affiliates of Fisher Brothers and Morgan Stanley Real Estate.
The Austin-based firm Hawkeye Partners has hired Bret Wilkerson, the former chief executive officer of research firm Property & Portfolio Research, as managing director.