LNR Property gets $417M shot in the arm

LNR Property, the commercial real estate company controlled by Cerberus Capital Management, has received a $417 million cash infusion from a group that includes Vornado Realty Trust, iStar Financial, Oaktree Capital Management and Cerberus, the company announced Friday. The new investments helped LNR, which is among the country’s largest servicers of commercial real estate loans, reduce its debt to $425 million from $1.3 billion. Steven Roth’s Vornado now has a 26.2 percent equity interest in LNR, which comes from a $116 million new cash investment, combined with a conversion of its $15 million mezzanine loan into equity, the New York-based REIT said. In a statement, LNR CEO Tom Hughes called the deal a “substantial new investment in LNR by our sponsor and four largest creditors” that will make LNR “well-positioned to capitalize on opportunities in the commercial real estate market.” TRD