Vornado looks to sell towers co-owned with Trump

Vornado Realty Trust is considering selling a pair of office buildings it owns alongside President Donald Trump’s firm.

The real estate investment trust is looking at options to recapitalize 1290 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan and 555 California Street in San Francisco, Bloomberg reported. Vornado owns a 70 percent controlling interest in the properties.

The Trump Organization could also sell its stake in the office towers, the news outlet reported.

Representatives for Trump declined to comment to Bloomberg. The company’s 30 percent stake in both buildings has been described as passive. Tenants at the San Francisco tower include Goldman Sachs, KKR, Microsoft and McKinsey, while Neuberger Berman and State Street Bank are among those occupying the Manhattan building.

Trump’s stake in the properties could, however, complicate matters. Critics have long raised red flags about Trump maintaining his business interests while in office.

Trump’s stake was valued at $765 million after taking into consideration his portion of the debt on the properties, according to an assessment last year by Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.

Trump had tapped Vornado CEO Steven Roth to serve on his infrastructure council in 2017 and, more recently, to sit on his economic recovery task force to help reopen the country post Covid-19. [Bloomberg] — Rich Bockmann

Contact Rich Bockmann at rb@therealdeal.com or 908-415-5229.