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Real Estate
Cleary Gottlieb’s real estate practice is diversified and global, spanning the full range of transaction types, regions and asset classes. Responding to both the limitations and opportunities presented by the credit crunch, we have recently advised on some of the largest and most high profile real estate acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, financings and restructurings. For more than 60 years, Cleary Gottlieb has been a pioneer in real estate law across the globe, providing clients with meaningful solutions to their business needs in fluctuating and complex markets.
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Jan 11, 2012
Cleary Gottlieb is advising the Genting Organization in its dealings with the State of New York concerning a $4 billion private investment for the development of a 3.8 million square foot convention and exhibition center at the Aqueduct Racetrack site in Queens, New York. In addition to the new convention space, up to 3,000 hotel rooms are expected to be developed. The convention and exhibition center will be the largest in the nation and will generate tens of thousands of jobs.
Sep 01, 2011
Cleary Gottlieb has been representing a joint venture between YOTEL and international hotel developer IFA Hotels & Resorts in the development, opening and financing of the new YOTEL 700-room hotel on 42nd Street and 10th Avenue in New York City. YOTEL is known for operating innovative pod hotels in airports in London and Amsterdam. As YOTEL’s first cabin hotel in the United States and its first city center location, YOTEL New York features the largest terrace of any hotel in New York City and a fully automated check-in procedure, complete with luggage robot. YOTEL New York opened in June. The initial acquisition financing closed June 1 with affiliates of Atrium Holding as the mortgage and mezzanine lender.
Dec 23, 2010
Cleary Gottlieb is representing affiliates of TPG Capital in the acquisition of a $505 million portfolio of U.S. retail and mixed-use assets from ProLogis. The transaction was signed on December 17 and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.
ProLogis acquired the real estate portfolio being transferred to TPG from Catellus Development Corporation in 2005. The portfolio includes four shopping centers, two office buildings, 11 mixed-use development projects, two residential joint ventures and Los Angeles Union Station, as well as a variety of ground leases, telecommunication easements and former railroad rights of way. As part of the transaction, TPG will also acquire the Catellus name.
Jan 13, 2011
Cleary Gottlieb represented Goldman Sachs in the $435 million financing of a national portfolio of 29 assisted living communities acquired by a newly-formed joint venture between Sunrise Senior Living, a publicly-traded REIT, and CNL Lifestyle Properties. The financing utilized a so-called "OpCo/PropCo" structure and was tranched into one layer of mortgage debt and three layers of mezzanine debt secured by equity pledges.
Jun 01, 2010
Cleary Gottlieb represented Inmobiliaria Carso in connection with its acquisition of the office building located at 417 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan. The 11 story, 411,537 square foot Class A office building was built in 1911 and was sold by a subsidiary of the Whitehall Street Global Real Estate Limited Partnership 2007, an investment fund sponsored by Goldman Sachs. The building was acquired in a transaction that closed on June 1.
Inmobiliaria Carso is a real estate investment company. 417 Fifth Avenue represents Inmobiliaria’s first acquisition of a U.S. property.
Feb 25, 2010
Cleary Gottlieb represented Goldman Sachs in restructuring the €3.6 billion financings secured by properties leased to department store chain KarstadtQuelle (later renamed Arcandor). The restructuring became necessary due to the insolvency of the Arcandor Group, including its subsidiaries Karstadt and Quelle. The restructuring closed on February 25. Cleary Gottlieb also represented Goldman Sachs in originating the initial senior and mezzanine financings of these properties in July 2006, comprising a sale-and-lease-back of more than 170 properties.
Cleary Gottlieb's role in the restructuring extended to various aspects of the transaction, including amendments to finance documents and security, changes to intercreditor and syndication arrangements, and lease modifications.
It is expected that Karstadt's insolvency receiver, Hubert Görg, will soon present to Karstadt’s creditors an insolvency plan with the aim of rehabilitating the company. The recent restructuring of finance and lease arrangements was critical to the willingness of the insolvency receiver to proceed with rehabilitation planning.
Sep 03, 2010
Cleary Gottlieb represented Goldman Sachs as lender in the further restructuring of the senior and mezzanine financings of an acquisition of properties leased to department store chain Karstadt in 2006. Initially, the transaction comprised financings in an amount of up to €3.6 billion and a sale-and-lease-back of more than 170 properties. The further restructuring which was agreed on September 3 became necessary due to the sale of the insolvent Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH to investor Nicolas Berggruen.
Cleary Gottlieb already advised Goldman Sachs in 2006, 2008 and in February 2010 with respect to the original financing and the following restructurings, respectively.
Cleary Gottlieb's role in the restructuring extended to various aspects of the transaction, including amendments to finance documents and security, changes to intercreditor and syndication arrangements, and lease modifications.
Mar 03, 2010
Cleary Gottlieb represented the lenders in connection with the successful restructuring and extension of €400 million of senior mortgage and mezzanine financings for the Queens Moat hotels group, a joint venture of the Whitehall Funds and Westmont Services. Queens Moat owns hotels across the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands under various brands, including Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Best Western.
Jan 21, 2009
Cleary Gottlieb represented Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B. de C.V. (Grupo Bimbo) in its acquisition of Weston Foods, Inc., the U.S. bakery division of George Weston Limited, for U.S.$2.38 billion and its acquisition of related financial assets for U.S.$125 million. The transaction closed on January 21, 2009.
Seven banks financed the transaction through a U.S.$1.9 billion dual currency term facility with a three-year tranche, a five-year tranche and a U.S.$900 million dual currency one-year bridge facility that is expected to be taken out in the local bond market. A substantial portion of the commitments were funded in Mexican Pesos, requiring Grupo Bimbo to engage in foreign exchange transactions in between funding and payment to George Weston Limited on the day of closing. This is the largest cross-border acquisition financing in recent months in Latin America.
Grupo Bimbo, which is among the world’s largest baking companies in terms of production and sales volume, has more than 80 plants and 800 distribution centers located in 18 countries throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Grupo Bimbo produces over 5,000 products and its direct distribution networks comprise more than 36,500 routes and 96,000 employees.
As a result of this transaction Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU), Grupo Bimbo’s consolidated U.S. operation, becomes one of the largest baked-goods companies in the country, with a leading position in bread, buns, sweet baked goods and cakes. BBU’s brand portfolio now includes Arnold, Bimbo, Boboli, Brownberry, Entenmann’s, Francisco, Freihoffer’s, Marinella, Mrs Baird’s, Oroweat, Stroehmann, Thomas’ and Tia Rosa.
Nov 21, 2008
Cleary Gottlieb is representing the German Savings Bank Association (“DSGV”) with respect to back guarantees granted by DSGV and other major German banking associations and financial institutions to the Federal Republic of Germany in connection with a €50 billion rescue package arranged by the German Federal Government and various significant financial institutions for the Hypo Real Estate Group.
In 2007, Cleary Gottlieb advised DSGV on the acquisition of Landesbank Berlin Holding AG (formerly “Bankgesellschaft Berlin”).
Counsel in the Largest Real Estate Transaction in History
(Blackstones' $36 Billion Equity Office LBO)
“This team continues to provide distressed real estate investments and innovative loan restructurings, while actively advising clients on new lending and development projects.”
Chambers USA (2011)
Cleary Gottlieb’s “team provides a ‘fantastic level of service’ and has both a national and international footprint. Its recent work includes distressed real estate investment, innovative loan restructuring transactions and new lending and development projects. It also has a deep private equity practice.”
The Legal 500 - US (2011)
“This team has established itself in real estate financing.”
Chambers Global (2010)
“This corporate and finance-focused real estate team is a significant player in New York. … The outfit is also recognized for its international strength; it regularly handles cross-border transactions throughout Europe and the US. … ‘This top-notch firm delivers consistently high-quality work.’”
Chambers USA (2010)
“Cleary Gottlieb operates a global REIT practice, and representing lenders in REIT-related financings accounts for a substantial portion of its workload.”
Chambers Global (2009)
“This team has established itself in real estate financing … The team is strongest on the lender side and the firm’s international reach has been a major asset, with its reputation growing steadily in the Middle East and Latin America.”
“‘This team excels in extraordinary and unusual transactions,’ report clients, who are equally impressed by its thoroughness and speedy responses … ‘They work to get the deal done instead of trying to prove that they are the smartest people in the room.’”
Chambers USA (2009)
“[Cleary Gottlieb’s] New York real estate partners are extremely versatile, with each developing experience of a variety of different transactions across the corporate, finance and dirt spheres through the years, and share among them an ‘unsurpassed ability to work through difficult issues.’”
The Legal 500 - US (2009)
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