Silverstein plans Israel debut with $200M bond offering

Funds would be used to refinance Midtown West dev site

(Credit: Silverstein Properties)
(Credit: Silverstein Properties)

Larry Silverstein is the latest New York developer to head to the land of milk, honey and cheap financing.

Silverstein Properties plans to debut on the Israeli market with a $200 million corporate bond offering, backed by a portfolio of eight Manhattan properties, including 7 World Trade Center and Silver Towers. The proceeds will go towards refinancing Silverstein’s planned 57-story tower at 520 West 41st Street, according to documents filed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Silverstein issued a prospectus with TASE ​earlier this month, and is currently on a road show in Israel to sell the deal to investors.

The portfolio backing the issuing entity includes eight properties valued at $5.2 billion, with Silverstein’s interest totaling $2.2 billion, according to the prospectus. The properties collectively span 9 million square feet, and includes one development site and seven residential and commercial properties.

The most valuable of the properties is 7 World Trade Center, a 52-story office tower valued at $1.2 billion. The first of the World Trade Center buildings to be completed, it is 95 percent occupied, with a loan-to-value ratio of 40 percent and a net operating income of $60.2 million, according to TASE documents. The portfolio includes two additional downtown buildings, the 665,000-square-foot office tower at 120 Wall Street and the 1.9 million-square-foot commercial tower at 120 Broadway.

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The portfolio also includes two massive Midtown West residential projects, the 921-unit River Place at 650 West 42nd Street, and neighboring 882-unit Silver Towers at 620 West 42nd Street. It also includes a third Midtown West property, the block-wide development site at the former Mercedes-Benz car dealership at 529 West 41st Street. Last August, Silverstein plans for a 57-story mixed-use tower, replacing earlier designs for a 1,000-foot tower. According to the prospectus, the building would span 1.8 million square feet, with 499 residential units across 92,000 square feet, and 1.2 million square feet for office, retail and hotel space. The funds would be used to replace the existing debt on the property.

Several steps remain before Silverstein is listed on the TASE, including the completion of the road show, the bond tender, and a rating from the Israeli financial rating agencies. Tel Aviv-based underwriting firm Leader Capital Markets is working with Silverstein in Israel, sources told The Real Deal.

Silverstein, which is said to be buying ABC’s Upper West Side headquarters for over $1 billion, was not immediately available for comment.

In recent months, Moinian Group raised $167 million and All Year Management raised $165 million through bond issuances, with each landing coupons at about 3 percent.

In January, TRD described how Israeli underwriting firms are battling for American real estate business.