Even as developer Ziel Feldman seeks a debt settlement for Polar Investments Ltd. (TASE: PLR) in Israel, his US company HFZ Capital Group and a partner, Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) unit Vornado Capital Partners, have jointly bought a building in Manhattan for $170 million. Vornado acquired the retail space of the building, located on East 68th Street and Madison Avenue, and HFZ acquired the building's 41 apartments.
"The Wall Street Journal" reports that the property was sold at a loss by ABRO Management, who bought it for $191.8 million for it at the top of the market in August 2008.
"We are delighted to purchase an apartment building with such a distinguished New York history,” said Ziel Feldman. The property’s residences “could never be replicated in today’s market. Gracious, old-world proportions in one of the best locations in Manhattan make the property totally unique."
Meanwhile, in Israel, Feldman signaled Polar Investments' bondholders that the company was in talks on a NIS 140 million debt settlement. In a notice to the TASE two weeks ago, the company said that it could not pay the NIS 27.4 million principle and interest payment, which was due on January 1. Polar, once one of Israel's leading holding companies, said that it was seeking a deal with the bondholders to defer the payment, and that it wanted a general debt settlement, despite missing the bond payment.
Polar is also in talks with the Origo debt recycling fund for a bridge loan to make the interest payment.
Yesterday, Polar and Acro Holdings Ltd. announced that they would sell their Project 51 in Manhattan to CIM, which "undertakes to invest up to $85 million to complete the project, whereas the Israeli partners have no commitment to invest additional capital in it." CIM Group Inc. is the private equity fund which decided against acquiring Delek Real Estate Ltd. (TASE: DLKR) from Yitzhak Tshuva last year.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 16, 2012
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012