Related wins bid for WarnerMedia sale-leaseback at 30 Hudson Yards

1.5 million sf deal expected to top $2 billion

From left: WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey, 30 Hudson Yards, and Related CEO Steve Ross (Credit Getty Images and KPF)
From left: WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey, 30 Hudson Yards, and Related CEO Steve Ross (Credit Getty Images and KPF)

Related Companies is buying back 1.5 million square feet of space at Hudson Yards.

The developer of the newly-opened megaproject has won a bid to buy WarnerMedia’s office condominium at 30 Hudson Yards, in a deal expected to top $2 billion, Reuters reported. A source told the news agency that the winning bid was selected last week.

WarnerMedia, formerly known as Time Warner, was taken over by AT&T for $85 billion last year, and the new parent company has been looking to cut debt in the wake of the merger. AT&T’s plans for a 20-year sale and leaseback of the space were made public in January.

Other bidders included pension funds, a sovereign wealth fund and real estate investment trusts. Doug Harmon, Adam Spies and Kevin Donner of Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the deal.

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The deal will be similar to a previous lease-buyback between Time Warner and the developer, when the media company sold its office space at Time Warner Center to Related, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for $1.31 billion.

That sale-leaseback enabled Time Warner to pick up its new space at 30 Hudson Yards, where Related relied heavily on owner-occupied office condo deals to finance the development.

The office condo spans the 14th through 51st floors of the 101-story tower, which also features the highest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere. [Reuters] — Kevin Sun