From left: Joseph Moinian of the Moinian Group; 3 Columbus Circle; Stefan Krause, CFO of Deutsche; and Stephen Ross, CEO of RelatedThe Moinian Group, led by developer Joseph Moinian, filed a $200 million suit against Deutsche Bank and the Related Companies, alleging the companies engaged in a predatory scheme to take over his financially troubled office building at [more]
Junior creditors Pershing Square Capital Management and Winthrop Realty Trust lost their bid to stop the planned foreclosure sale of the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village apartment complex, Crain’s reported. The New York State appeals court declined a request by Pershing and Winthrop to delay the Oct. 4 foreclosure planned by senior debt holders, according to court papers. William Ackman, who runs Pershing, said he will appeal. Pershing and Winthrop asked to stop the lender foreclosure last week. A lower court judge issued a preliminary injunction Sept. 16 blocking their foreclosure of the property unless they first pay senior creditors the $3.67 billion that they are owed under the first mortgage. CWCapital Asset Management, the special servicer for the senior mortgage, sued Pershing and Winthrop to stop their foreclosure plan, arguing that an agreement between the two groups of creditors prohibits Pershing and Winthrop from taking control of the property without paying the senior lenders. Pershing and Winthrop disagree and believe they have the right to foreclose on their collateral, which is separate from the lenders’ collateral. [Crain's]
Pershing Square Capital Management and Winthrop Realty Trust filed a request today with a state appeals court in Manhattan to stop the Oct. 4 foreclosure planned by senior debt holders at the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village residential complex, Edward Weisfelner, a lawyer for Pershing and Winthrop, told Bloomberg News. Pershing, a hedge fund run by William Ackman, and Winthrop, both junior debt holders, lost a bid last week to pursue their own foreclosure sale for the property. A lower court judge issued a preliminary injunction saying they may only proceed if they first pay senior creditors the $3.67 billion that they are owed under the first mortgage. If the court grants a stay, Pershing and Winthrop will still have to argue the merits of their appeal. Senior lenders will respond to the appeal Sept. 24 and the appeals court will decide by Sept. 29 whether to stay the planned foreclosure. Meanwhile, CW Capital Asset Management, the special servicer for the senior mortgage, is seeking to move forward with its foreclosure after Stuyvesant Town owner Tishman Speyer Properties defaulted on a $3 billion senior loan and $1.4 billion of junior debt. CW Capital’s foreclosure would wipe out the investment by junior lenders, according to the filing. [Bloomberg via Crain's]
Gerald Guterman, whose Condo Recovery firm bought more than 12,000 New York-area rental apartments and turned them into condos and co-ops in the 1970s and 1980s, is preparing a bid for a co-op conversion of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, Bloomberg News reported. Stuy Town has been embroiled in a dispute between creditors after owner Tishman Speyer Properties defaulted on a $3 billion mortgage in January. Guterman said he met with agents of the more than 25,000 tenants who live there and he has discussed the proposal with CW Capital Asset Management, the representative for the senior debt holders. Condo Recovery’s plan is dependent on CW Capital winning a lawsuit against junior lenders who are trying to seize control of the 80-acre complex. Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management and Winthrop Realty Trust want to lead their own co-op conversion after buying $300 million of junior debt. [Bloomberg]
A New York state Supreme Court judge postponed ruling today on whether a joint venture can foreclose on Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. Judge Richard Lowe indicated he would likely rule later this month in the case over the 11,000-unit East Side complex, Crain’s reported. Over the summer, a joint venture between hedge fund manager Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management and Winthrop Realty Services acquired a $300 million mezzanine loan for just $45 million, with plans to foreclose on the property in an auction Aug. 25. However, Bank of America and U.S. Bancorp, acting as trustees for the complex’s senior lenders, sued to block the foreclosure, alleging that the venture was breaching terms of the inter-creditor agreement, The senior lenders, who hold the $3 billion mortgage on the complex, also want to foreclose on the property. Earlier this year, a Tishman Speyer-led partnership defaulted on the mortgage. Since then, special servicer CW Capital, representing the interests of the senior lenders, has been working to ensure the property is maintained and preparing for an orderly foreclosure. [Crain's]
The mortgage holders for Stuyvesant Town’s $3.6 billion first mortgage are preparing for a tenant-led buyout, according to a letter obtained by the New York Post. As part of their campaign to block hedge funder William Ackman from foreclosing on the property, special servicer CW Capital is arranging a meeting with the tenants’ buyout advisor Moelis & Co. CW is also planning to provide Moelis with current rent rolls, which will help tenants determine whether a co-op conversion is possible and at what price. “CW’s ‘Hail Mary’ letter is filled with half-promises it knows it can’t keep,” a spokesperson for Ackman said. The letter from CW came a week after the mortgage servicer challenged Ackman with a lawsuit over his efforts to take over the property. Ackman is hoping to restructure the first mortgage through his own co-op conversion plan. [Post]
The mortgage holders for Stuyvesant Town’s $3.6 billion first mortgage are preparing for a tenant-led buyout, according to a letter obtained by the New York Post. As part of their campaign to block hedge funder William Ackman from foreclosing on the property, special servicer CW Capital is arranging a meeting with the tenants’ buyout advisor Moelis & Co. CW is also planning to provide Moelis with current rent rolls, which will help tenants determine whether a co-op conversion is possible and at what price. “CW’s ‘Hail Mary’ letter is filled with half-promises it knows it can’t keep,” a spokesperson for Ackman said. The letter from CW came a week after the mortgage servicer challenged Ackman with a lawsuit over his efforts to take over the property. Ackman is hoping to restructure the first mortgage through his own co-op conversion plan. [Post]
The mortgage holders for Stuyvesant Town’s $3.6 billion first mortgage are preparing for a tenant-led buyout, according to a letter obtained by the New York Post. As part of their campaign to block hedge funder William Ackman from foreclosing on the property, special servicer CW Capital is arranging a meeting with the tenants’ buyout advisor Moelis & Co. CW is also planning to provide Moelis with current rent rolls, which will help tenants determine whether a co-op conversion is possible and at what price. “CW’s ‘Hail Mary’ letter is filled with half-promises it knows it can’t keep,” a spokesperson for Ackman said. The letter from CW came a week after the mortgage servicer challenged Ackman with a lawsuit over his efforts to take over the property. Ackman is hoping to restructure the first mortgage through his own co-op conversion plan. [Post]
Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village might be split in two in a foreclosure sale if the price is right, according to senior creditors for the East Side mega-complex. In a court filing yesterday, Bank of America and special servicer CW Capital Asset Management asked for approval to put the property up for auction in either one or two pieces, Bloomberg reported. Tishman Speyer and BlackRock have been trying to turn over the complex to creditors since defaulting on a $3 billion mortgage in January. Proceeds from the foreclosure sale will go toward covering the senior mortgage — on which debt has reached $3.66 billion, the filing says — as well as the litigation costs and late charges. [Bloomberg]
Update (1:50 p.m.): David Bistricer’s Morgan Capital was the other bidder. Comments regarding and from Bistricer added.
Special servicer CWCapital Asset Management won the bidding this
morning to take title to the Riverton Houses in Harlem at a price of
$125 million, following a short bidding war with an attorney
representing a company controlled by real estate investor David Bistricer, called Morgan Capital. About 75 people, including brokers, potential buyers and residents of
the 12 13-story apartment buildings, attended the brief auction in the rotunda of the State Supreme Court building at 60 Centre Street. The property has a loan with a judgment valued at $240.6 million that is held in a
commercial mortgaged-backed security. CWCapital is the special servicer
for the loan.
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