Blackstone is reportedly close to a deal to snap up a stake in one of New York City’s most prominent office developments.
The Wall Street Journal reported the firm is in advanced discussions to acquire a 49 percent stake in Brookfield Asset Management’s One Manhattan West. The deal would value the office building at more than $2.85 billion.
People familiar with the matter told the Journal a deal for the stake could be reached in the coming days.
Bloomberg previously reported that Cushman & Wakefield was advising Brookfield in soliciting interest in the stake sale.
The 70-story office tower nabbed the biggest financing deal of 2020 when Brookfield and Qatar Investment Authority scored $1.5 billion in September 2020 through the CMBS market. Two mezzanine loans totaling $300 million boosted the financing package to $1.8 billion.
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An August 2020 rent roll of the property revealed the weighted average lease term for tenants to be more than 17 years. Law firm Skadden Arps and accounting firm Ernst & Young combined to make up more than 58 percent of the base rent. Other major tenants at One Manhattan West include Accenture and the National Hockey League.
As of August 2020, the 2.1 million-square-foot office portion of the building was 94 percent leased to seven major tenants, along with three Brookfield affiliates. The average base rent was about $91 per square foot.
The deal for a stake in One Manhattan West is familiar territory for both firms. In 2017, Blackstone acquired a 49 percent stake at Brookfield’s One Liberty Plaza.
Prior to the pandemic, the two firms were reportedly in talks about a potential sale of the 2.3-million-square-foot office tower in the Financial District, hoping to net about $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion in a sale. It’s not clear if the firms are still eyeing a sale of the building.
[WSJ] — Holden Walter-Warner