New York, NY, May 6, 2008 – GE Real Estate’s New York regional office today announced the completion of $960 million interest-only first mortgage financing with iStar Financial, Inc., secured by 34 single-tenant office, R&D and industrial properties located in 12 states. The portfolio of properties totals nearly 12 million square feet and is currently 99.6 percent occupied with an average lease term of 9.2 years. iStar will use the net proceeds of the three-year floating rate, cross-collateralized and cross-defaulted loan to retire existing debt obligations.
John Fowler, Janet Krolman and Greg LaBine of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, LP brokered the transaction. "We have arranged many successful financings with GE Real Estate over the past several years," said Fowler, executive managing director in HFF’s New York office. "No matter how big or complex the transaction, we can count on GE to deliver for our customer. In my opinion, there is no other single lender who could have made this deal happen in today's credit market."
Jay Sugarman, chairman and chief executive officer of iStar, commented, “We were looking for a financing partner for this important transaction who we could rely on for timely and dependable execution. With the financial flexibility GE Real Estate was able to provide, we were able to close the transaction in less than 45 days, helping to better position iStar longer-term and enabling us to begin taking advantage of the new, more attractive lending environment.”
This financing for iStar represents the largest debt deal of 2008 for GE Real Estate. It is also the largest loan originated by the company in the past several years. Funding of approximately $810 million occurred at the initial closing of the financing. The balance of the funds is expected to be provided before the end of the second quarter of 2008, subject to the finalization of additional loan documentation. The three-year financing is pre-payable in 20 months.
“While sizeable, this is a relatively conservative transaction, well-margined and secured by a geographically-diverse portfolio of single-tenant properties. Almost half the tenants are rated investment grade,” said Alec Burger, president of GE Real Estate’s North America Lending division. “We’ve known the management of iStar for several years and are confident they will use this financing to build a strong platform for the future. We see this as the first of many deals together.”
About iStar Financial Inc.
iStar Financial Inc. (NYSE: SFI) is a leading publicly traded finance company focused on the commercial real estate industry. The Company primarily provides custom-tailored investment capital to high-end private and corporate owners of real estate, including senior and mezzanine real estate debt, senior and mezzanine corporate capital, as well as corporate net lease financing and equity. The Company, which is taxed as a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), seeks to deliver strong dividends and superior risk-adjusted returns on equity to shareholders by providing innovative and value added financing solutions to its customers.
About HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.)
HFF (NYSE: HF) operates out of 18 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF offers clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, structured finance, private equity, note sales and note sale advisory services and commercial loan servicing.
About GE Real Estate North America Lending
GE Real Estate’s North America Lending division, with over 20 offices serving all major markets in the United States, Canada and Mexico, provides a broad array of financing solutions for owners of commercial real estate. North America Lending is a balance sheet lender, with a loan portfolio of $38 billion. The business closed $2.8 billion in total volume in the first quarter of 2008.
GE Contact:
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John Oliver
Office: 203/750-3089
Cell Phone: 203/984-7757
john.oliver@ge.com
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Richard Ringer
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Notes to editors:
About GE Real Estate
GE Real Estate (
www.gerealestate.com) is one of the world's premier commercial real estate companies with more than US$87 billion in assets and a presence in 31 markets throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand. Backed by GE's AAA rating, GE Real Estate offers a comprehensive range of capital and investment solutions including equity capital for acquisition or development, as well as fixed and floating rate mortgages for new acquisitions or re-capitalizations of commercial real estate. With a 28% compound annual growth rate since 1993, GE Real Estate is one of the world's fastest growing and most profitable real estate enterprises. This extraordinary record of success grows out of a reputation for collaboration and partnership; a depth of knowledge and experience and a history of building relationships, finding opportunities and opening doors for more than 5,000 owners, builders, borrowers and brokers worldwide.
About GE Commercial FinanceGE Commercial Finance (
www.gecommercialfinance.com) offers businesses around the globe an extensive array of financial products and services. With more than US$337 billion in assets and expertise in the middle-market, GE Commercial Finance provides loans, operating leases, financing programs and innovative structured capital to help customers grow. Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, GE Commercial Finance is a wholly owned subsidiary of GE (NYSE:GE), a diversified services, technology and manufacturing company with operations worldwide.
