KBR to Remain in Houston, Inks 1.2 Million-SF Deal
February 21st, 2010Last week, controversial defense contractor KBR signed the largest office deal in the United States in nearly two years, leasing a total of 1.2 million square feet in Houston.
Brookfield Properties extended the construction company’s 700,000-square…
New York Lender, Burned but Resolute
February 19th, 2010In 2006, Long Island banker Bradley E. Rock was one of the industry’s loudest opponents of a proposed crackdown on lending. Now his bank is a dramatic example of what regulators were so worried about.
Bernstein Buys Stake in $250M Multifamily Portfolio
February 19th, 2010Bernstein Management entered into a joint venture partnership with Forest City Enterprises to purchase 50 percent interest in a three-property multifamily portfolio in suburban Washington, DC, valued at $250 million, or approximately $186,567 per unit…
Icahn Pays $150M for Fontainebleau Las Vegas Resort
February 18th, 2010Billionaire investor and financier Carl Icahn has acquired the unfinished Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort at a steal, following the previous owner’s bankruptcy filing and inability to complete the costly project.
Icahn Enterprises closed on the hotel…
Harvard Tests Market for Property Bets
February 18th, 2010Harvard’s endowment is looking to sell up to $500 million of its real-estate portfolio—if the price is right—as it seeks to cut its exposure to the troubled property market.
Risky CRE Lending Deadly for Banks
February 17th, 2010The autopsy of 16 bank fatalities completed this year have identified commercial real estate lending as the primary killer in more than half (nine) of the cases, and an accomplice in one other.
In the seven cases in which CRE was not specified, the…
Risky or Not, Lenders Slowly Opening Vaults to CRE Lending Again
February 17th, 2010Even as banking regulators and politicians deal with the fallout from the collapse of commercial real estate values and the subsequent impact on the banking systems, it appears that an increasing number of lenders are more inclined to jump back into the…
Lennar Acquires $3 Billion Distressed Loan Portfolio
February 17th, 2010Lennar Corp. in Miami, FL, closed on the purchase of two structured loans transactions with the FDIC. The transactions represent the purchase of two portfolios of loans with a combined unpaid balance of $3.05 billion.
Lennar acquired indirectly 40…
Real Money (Feb. 11): Capital Raisings, Property Financings
February 17th, 2010Annaly Capital Management Inc. priced its public offering of $500 million in aggregate principal amount of its 4% convertible senior notes due 2015. Annaly granted the underwriter of the notes a thirty-day option to purchase up to an additional $75 million…
Simon Prods General
February 17th, 2010Investors and analysts expect Simon Property to sweeten its $10 billion offer for General Growth, with other suitors possibly waiting in the wings.
