Irvine, CA, April 18, 2006 – GE Real Estate announced today it provided a $159 million flexible, fixed-rate loan to The Bethany Group, a real estate and investment company based in Irvine, CA, to fund its acquisition of nine Class B multi-family properties with a total of 2,873 units. The loan structure featured GE’s new flexible fixed-rate product, which offers borrowers more flexible terms and prepayment options as well as in-house asset management.
The on-book financing has a five-year term and permits prepayment if the assets are sold before the loan matures. This was the second deal between the two companies; in September, 2005 GE provided a $151.6 million loan that enabled The Bethany Group to acquire and reposition a portfolio of 12 multifamily properties.
"We knew from experience that GE delivers exceptional service” said Greg Garmon, Bethany Group’s CEO. “Our new loan gives us the certainty of a fixed rate plus the flexibilities of an on-book lending program, which are both key to our growth strategy.” The collateral for the loan are two properties located in Orlando, FL; two in Jacksonville; one in Tampa; two in San Antonio, TX; and two in Columbia, SC.
"Our strong relationship with The Bethany Group and the geographic dispersion of the assets made this an attractive deal,” said Linda Gorbenko, Senior Director in the North America Debt Group at GE Real Estate. “We appreciate the opportunity to help grow its business.”
The brokers for this transaction were HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler) and Cohen Financial.
GE Real Estate is a leading global resource for commercial real estate capital. The Bethany Group specializes in multi-family housing and now owns and operates 35 such properties totalling more than 10,000 units.
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About GE Real Estate
GE Real Estate (
www.gerealestate.com) is a world leader in commercial real estate capital solutions. Formed in 1972, the business has more than US$35 billion in core assets with 44 offices located throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand. GE Real Estate, backed by its parent company's AAA rating, offers a broad range of financing, equity and servicing solutions including: intermediate and long-term mortgage financing, restructuring and acquisition capital, niche equity investment, joint ventures, capital markets securitization and placements, and asset management. As one of the fastest growing units within GE Commercial Finance, Real Estate has experienced annual growth of more than 10% for the last ten consecutive years.
GE Commercial Finance (
www.gecommercialfinance.com) offers businesses an extensive array of financial services and products. With over US$260 billion in assets and an expertise in the mid-market, GE Commercial Finance provides loans, operating leases, financing programs and innovative structured capital to help customers grow. GE Commercial Finance is a wholly owned subsidiary of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), a diversified services, technology and manufacturing company with operations worldwide.
