Rithm Capital Lands First Big Lease Since Paramount Takeover

While kicking Albert Behler to the curb at 1633 Broadway, Rithm Capital is welcoming a major tenant to the Midtown Manhattan office, its first significant move since its billion-dollar acquisition of Paramount Group last month.

Paris-based financial services firm Natixis agreed to take 203,000 square feet at 1633 Broadway, the Commercial Observer reported. The lease was signed before the end of the fourth quarter and was disclosed in a Savills report.

Details of the lease were not disclosed, though the deal is said to be long-term as Natixis relocates from 1251 Sixth Avenue. Asking rents at its new digs range from $64 to $84 per square foot.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Robert Lowe brokered the lease.

In case it wasn’t already clear, Rithm owns 1633 Broadway, as well as a handful of other buildings formerly in the hands of Paramount.

Last month, Behler — the longtime chief executive officer and chair of Paramount — was escorted out when he showed up to his old office at 1633 Broadway despite no longer being employed at the company, according to sources familiar with the matter. The incident came on Rithm’s first day as Paramount’s owner, though a source close to Behler claimed he believed the morning of the saga was actually his last day.

Paramount reached an agreement to sell the firm to Rithm for $1.6 billion, or $6.60 per share, last year following an intense multi-round bidding process. Dubai-based Saray Capital, which owned a 5.4 percent stake in Paramount, tried to make a last-minute offer for $6.95 per share. But shareholders ultimately approved Rithm’s bid.

In a press release announcing the closing of its deal, Rithm said that Behler “is departing the company,” but did not offer any additional details.

Paramount controlled 13 million square feet of office space in New York and San Francisco.

Manhattan office leasing reached pre-pandemic levels in the fourth quarter, according to Colliers, posting its strongest quarter since late 2019. That quarter contributed to a yearly total of nearly 42 million square feet for the highest total since 2019.

— Holden Walter-Warner