Lawsuit: Shvo Profits on Transamerica Sale, Partner Got Zero

The manager of Germany’s largest pension fund and former owner of the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco stiffed one of its partners out of more than $30 million after selling the iconic tower earlier this year, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this year.

In a new court filing Monday, that partner, Deutsche Finance America, has asked a U.S. federal judge to freeze the proceeds from the Transamerica Pyramid sale while it and the pension fund manager, Bayerische Versorgungskammer, fight over who is owed what.

Deutsche Finance America also alleged that BVK paid another partner — New York developer Michael Shvo — tens of millions of dollars in added fees as part of the skyscraper sale, effectively “reducing the ultimate investors’ share of the Transamerica Pyramid sale proceeds.”

Shvo allegedly earned $79 million in termination fees from BVK, according to the petition — more than double what was previously reported, while DFA hasn’t received “a single dollar” of the $31.3 million it claims it’s owed. The firm says it had “an identical fee-protection arrangement” to Shvo’s. The firm, which had intimate knowledge of the Transamerica Pyramid’s management, alleges that BVK “broke investment rules,” and criticized the pension fund for “squandering” its $2 billion U.S. real estate portfolio.

When BVK sold the spire-shaped concrete tower in March to Cyprus-based investment firm Yoda PLC, the $692 million sale price represented a steep loss for investors. BVK executives estimated losses across its U.S. portfolio, including the Transamerica Pyramid, to eclipse $1 billion. A smaller German pension fund lost its entire $67 million investment in the building.

“On the eve of the Transamerica sale, [BVK] went to inordinate lengths to cut off DFA from the monies owed to it — to the point of trying to circumvent and redesign the agreed transactional structure … all so DFA would have no ready recourse to recoup the fees it is owed post-transaction,” the petition claims.

DFA’s petition sheds new light on the run-up to the high-profile sale of San Francisco’s most distinct tower. It also makes clear that the fallout from the property’s nine-figure drop in value — as well as Shvo’s lucrative exit amidst significant losses for investors — is still unfolding.

Germany and the European Union’s rules around certain real estate funds require a group like BVK to bring in external management to oversee the investment. Enter Shvo and DFA, brought in by BVK in 2018. By 2020, the trio had invested $2 billion across seven U.S. properties, the portfolio included the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Manhattan and the Big Red tower in Chicago, according to the petition. In 2020, the group partnered to purchase the Transamerica Pyramid for $650 million. The new owners then spent $250 million in a high-profile renovation of the main tower.

Shvo, on the other hand, appeared to have received a $34 million payday separate from the value of the property, bringing Yoda PLC’s total acquisition cost to $725 million for the property. That amount is in addition to a previously unreported $45 million package he received when he was allegedly removed as the asset manager in December 2025, according to the package, leaving Deutsche Finance America as the sole asset manager.

“This appears to be an additional pay-out to Mr. Shvo, above and beyond the fees he was already paid, raising grave questions about the disclosures and decisions around the Transamerica sale,” the petition said.

A spokesperson for Shvo rejected the petition’s claims that Shvo was terminated as asset manager in 2025 and received a $45 million payout. Shvo stayed on as asset manager until the sale of the property in March 2026, the spokesperson said.

Deutsche Finance America also claimed that BVK took on an increasingly hands-on role, “flouting restrictions” and beginning to act “underhandedly and even irrationally.”

“Although BVK improperly stepped into a steering role, it faltered in that role and systematically harmed its investments by failing to approve operating budgets, maintenance and development measures, refinancing decisions, and proposed leases across all of its properties,” the petition said. “Ultimately, BVK’s obstruction, compounded by challenging economic conditions, led to substantial underperformance across its U.S. investment portfolio.”