Shorenstein Buys $50M Junior Mezz for Yield

(Read more on the debt and equity markets.)

NEW YORK CITY-San Francisco-based Shorenstein Properties LLC has purchased a $50-million junior mezzanine loan from Deutsche Bank AG. The junior mezzanine loan is collateralized by equity interests in a limited liability company which is the indirect owner of 660 Madison Ave., a 254,896-sf office condominium located at the corner of 61st Street and Madison Avenue in Midtown.

The office condominium comprises floors 10 through 23 of the building. Floors one through nine are occupied by the flagship store of high end retailer Barneys New York. The office condominium, which is highly attractive to financial services firms such as hedge funds because of its views and easy access to the Upper East Side, is currently 90% leased.

Major tenants include the Corcoran Group, Dolce & Gabbana, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Drake Partners, and Lexington Partners. Shorenstein purchased the loan on behalf of its ninth investment fund, Shorenstein Realty Investors Nine LP, a $1.3-billion private commingled fund formed early this year.

Robert Underhill, managing director and capital transactions group head at Shorenstein, tells GlobeSt.com that the company purchased the debt because it provides an attractive yield on an outstanding piece of real estate. He notes that while there is a certain amount of dislocation in the equity market right now, and while finding deals that make sense requires heavy lifting, the company has found a unique and attractive opportunity in this deal.

Douglas Shorenstein, chairman and CEO of Shorenstein, explains that “this mezzanine loan acquisition provides an excellent opportunity for our fund to obtain a strong risked-adjusted return by participating in the economics of a high quality asset in Midtown Manhattan through a financing structure backed by a well capitalized borrower.” The asset was recently purchased by Italian real estate company Risanamento through a non-recourse financing of $275 million provided by Deutsche Bank.