Vornado lines up $1.2B refi of SF tower co-owned with Trump

Deal could provide more than $600M in cash to owners

Jamie Dimon, Steve Roth, Donald Trump and 555 California St. (Trump, Getty)
Jamie Dimon, Steve Roth, Donald Trump and 555 California St. (Trump, Getty)

Vornado Realty Trust has lined up a huge refinancing for the San Francisco office tower it owns with former President Donald Trump’s company — a deal that could return hundreds of millions of dollars in cash to the owners.

JPMorgan Chase is working on the $1.2 billion refinancing of 555 California Street and two adjacent buildings, Bloomberg News reported. The deal will fund improvements for the office tower and return about $617 million to Vornado and the Trump Organization.

Trump owns 30 percent of 555 California and 1290 Avenue of the Americas in New York through a partnership with Vornado. The REIT tried to sell the buildings last year but had to lower its price expectations before eventually pulling the properties off the market in November.

After the insurrection at the Capitol in January, several banks tied to Trump said they would no longer do business with him — a major problem considering he has $590 million in loans coming due over the next four years, about half of which he’s personally guaranteed.

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Trump Organization executive vice president Eric Trump declined to comment on the refinancing.

The former president’s stake in the two buildings accounts for nearly a third of his $2.3 billion fortune. But Vornado CEO Steve Roth stressed during the company’s February earnings call that Trump’s role in the partnership is not an active one.

“His role in the buildings is totally passive,” Roth said. “He’s OK with that and I’m delighted with that.”

[Bloomberg] – Rich Bockmann