Gary Garrabrant and Sam Zell

The co-founder and former CEO of Sam Zell‘s real estate investment trust has a new private-equity and consulting firm, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Gary Garrabrant, who left Zell’s Equity International in September, is now heading Jaguar Partners. The business will invest in emerging-market companies in such industries as consumer finance, retail and health care. [more]

From left: Sao Paulo and Sam Zell

While South American buyers have been buying up condominiums in South Florida and New York City, helping to boost the super high-end in both markets, American real estate companies are now returning the favor, the New York Times reported. [more]

Archstone, the massive apartment landlord now owned by failed bank Lehman Brothers’ estate, is seeking tor aise $3.45 billion through its initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported. Archstone, which plans to organize itself as real estate investment trust, updated the amount sought in a filing yesterday, Bloomberg News said. The company, which boasted revenue of $272.7 million in the third quarter of 2012, in August filed to go public. [more]

Sam Zell

Sam Zell has stepped in to steady his Equity International investment firm, as both its CEO and chief strategic officer have departed for undisclosed reasons, the Wall Street Jounal reported. Gary Garrabrant, who co-founded the firm with Zell in the mid-1990s and served as CEO, wouldn’t comment on why he left the firm and neither would Thomas McDonald, the chief strategic officer of the firm that’s invested $1.5 billion in emerging markets.

Now, Sam Zell, who serves as chairman, is stepping in to take over as chief executive while he searches for a replacement. [more]

Lehman Holdings Chairman Owen Thomas

Just three months after it wrestled away complete control of the Archstone portfolio from its former partner banks and Equity Residential Chairman Sam Zell, Lehman has filed to take the Colorado-based apartment landlord public. Bloomberg News reported the IPO filed to raise $100 million, but that is likely just a placeholder number being used to calculate fees.

The debt taken on by Lehman Brothers to finance the purchase of the apartment portfolio — with Tishman Speyer — for $22.2 billion in 2007 was one of causes for its 2008 collapse. After having emerged from bankruptcy in March, Lehman is banking that the IPO will finally make Archstone pay off. [more]

Sam Zell

Sam Zell’s Equity Residential received the $150 million in termination fees from Bank of America, Barclays Bank PLC and Lehman Brothers Holdings to finish the sale of Archstone to Lehman, GlobeSt.com reported. Also yesterday, Lehman confirmed its completion of the purchase of Archstone’s remaining stake, grabbing the final 26.5 percent interest for $1.5 billion. [more]

Equity Residential Chairman Sam Zell and 400 Park Avenue South

One of unionized labor’s harshest critics, Equity Residential Chairman Sam Zell has chosen union labor to construct the $190 million Park Avenue South tower he’s developing with Toll Brothers. Crain’s reported that Zell’s construction manager on the site, recently penalized Lend Lease Construction, struck an agreement with the Building and Construction Trades Council that will reduce standard union labor costs by 20 percent.  [more]

From left: Area Property Partners founder William Mack and Equity Investments Chairman Sam Zell

Real estate investment trusts are better off focusing on a single expertise than they are growing to all-encompassing behemoths. That was the consensus among a whole host of industry experts speaking today at the annual New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate REIT Symposium held at the Pierre hotel. [more]

From left: Stephen Schwarzman, Richard LeFrak, Sam Zell, Leonard Stern, Stephen Ross

Blackstone President Stephen Schwarzman, Richard LeFrak, Equity International Chairman Sam Zell and Related Companies Chairman Stephen Ross were just some of the big players in New York City real estate to make Forbes’ list of the world’s 1,226 billionaires released yesterday.

But none can match the wealth of the man who has the final say on whether many of their ambitious city projects ultimately get built: Mayor Michael Bloomberg. [more]