TRD talks 666 Fifth/Anbang deal with WNYC

Anbang Insurance Group’s rumored investment in Kushner Companies’ [TRDataCustom] 666 Fifth Avenue is far from a done deal, and the astronomical numbers — a $4 billion construction loan, for one — have flummoxed the industry.

The Real Deal’s Hiten Samtani, joined by Bloomberg’s David Kocieniewski, weighed in on the fuzzy numbers of the deal and the likelihood of it closing during a segment on WNYC’s “Money Talking” on Friday.

“They’re still losing money,” Samtani said, of the Kushners. “They need to bring in another parter. The question is what numbers are they bringing the parters in.”

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Last week, investor documents cited by Bloomberg valued the property at $7.2 billion after an Anbang-led redevelopment. But that number could be as high as $12 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal report, which described Kushner’s vision for a massive redevelopment that includes adding 40 stories to a Zaha Hadid-designed tower, while also transforming the retail space and creating luxury condos.

In both scenarios, the numbers are hard to figure, according to TRD’s analysis. “You’re just jumping into numbers that we’ve never fathomed in New York City real estate,” Samtani said. For the math to work, under even the $7 billion scenario, the condos would have to sell north of $9,000 per square foot, an enormous premium.

Though Senior White House Adviser Jared Kushner has resigned from Kushner Companies, a successful deal with Anbang at 666 Fifth would “open doors for conflicts of interest,” Kocieniewski added. — E.B. Solomont