UPDATED, 11:45 p.m., Nov. 19: Silverstein Properties is heading to Israel next year.
Larry Silverstein’s mega development firm is planning to issue bonds on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in 2018, The Real Deal has learned, joining a growing list of New York developers to do so in recent years.
A spokesperson for Silverstein confirmed that they were considering the option, but said it was premature to talk about the details.
The months-long process of structuring the offer and being approved to trade on the TASE is tentatively scheduled for completion in May 2018, a source close to the matter said.
The firm will need to create a corporate entity with a portfolio of New York assets to issue the bond as a public company in Tel Aviv. A key part of the process is structuring the portfolio with assets that can be cross-collateralized, and could include mix of development and income-producing properties.
Silverstein has no shortage of assets to choose from. The firm was the primary developer of the new World Trade Center, and owns four office towers at the new complex, including 4 World Trade, which reached 100 percent occupancy this summer. Other office properties include the 50-story tower at 1777 Sixth Avenue and 120 Wall. On the resiential side, Silverstein has Silver Towers, the 1,300-unit complex at 620 West 42nd Street, the 921-unit River Place, a series of office buildings in Midtown and Lower Manhattan, and a planned 1.6-million-square-foot development at 620 West 41st Street under development.
Silverstein is being advised by several firms, including Leader Capital Markets, Discount Capital Markets, and the underwriting firm IBI Poalim. Leader and Discount have each brought one American company to Tel Aviv in the past year.
Other companies who have gone this route and raised money in Israel include Extell Development, Moinian Group, and Joel Wiener’s Pinnacle Group, which raised $270 million in a series C bond earlier this month.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the head of Pinnacle Group. It is Joel Weiner.