Blackstone Looks to Sell Off More Signature Bank Debt

A Blackstone-led venture is ready to sell more of the commercial property debt once held by Signature Bank, at least the third time it may sell loans from its stake.

The joint venture of Blackstone, Rialto Capital and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is marketing $395 million worth of commercial property loans in the tri-state area, Bloomberg reported. Most of the assets tied to the debt are in New York City.

The portfolio includes 121 loans backed by office, multifamily, retail and industrial properties. A Newmark team led by Doug Harmon and Adam Spies are marketing the debt and bids are due later this month.

Blackstone, Rialto and Newmark did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The joint venture has sliced off portions of the debt for sale before. Last year, Morgan Stanley purchased $700 million worth of loans from the trio. Also last year, distressed debt player Maverick Real Estate Partners acquired $247 million in debt, backed by eight properties including buildings in Midtown Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

In December 2023, Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, BREIT, Rialto Capital and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board scored a 20 percent stake in a venture holding Signature’s $17 billion commercial real estate loan book with a winning bid of $1.2 billion. The FDIC retained an 80 percent interest and provided financing equal to 50 percent of the venture’s value.

A month later, the venture started shopping around $1.8 billion in performing loans, mostly backed by apartment buildings.

The collapse of Signature Bank and proliferation of its debt across firms continues to reverberate throughout New York City’s commercial real estate industry. This month, a group of lenders — Community Preservation Group, Related Fund Management and Neighborhood Restore — filed six pre-foreclosure actions against borrower Madison Realty Capital at Manhattan properties once tied to the failed Signature Bank.

— Holden Walter-Warner