Larry Silverstein’s Silverstein Properties tendered a $200 million bond offer on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Tuesday — its first on the Israeli market — and raised the full amount, at a 3.38 percent interest rate.
The developer’s offer was oversubscribed by nearly triple the asking amount, receiving $592 million in bids from investors, according to documents filed with the stock exchange. Silverstein accepted $174 million in the institutional tender, with the remaining $26 million open to private investors. The proceeds will go toward refinancing the megadevelopment firm’s planned 57-story tower in Midtown, at 520 West 41st Street.
Silverstein is entering the Israeli market with a $5.2 billion portfolio of eight massive New York City properties, including office towers at 7 World Trade Center and 120 Wall Street, the Hell’s Kitchen residential complex Silver Towers.
The interest rate is one of the lowest awarded to an American company. Moinian Group received the lowest, at 3 percent, in January of this year.
Silverstein was advised on the deal by Leader Capital Markets and Discount Capital Markets.
Ranan Cohen-Argod, CEO of a Leader Capital Markets subsidiary, said that Silverstein wanted to start small. “Silverstein wants to be more cautious in its approach to the Israeli capital markets. ‘We don’t want to come with very big numbers initially. We have to learn the Israeli market, as much as the Israeli market wants to [get to know] us.'”
Silverstein was not immediately available for comment.