Clifford Chance among advisers on $622m Qatar investment in Empire State Building owner
White & Case, Goodwin and Proskauer line up alongside magic circle firm
August 25, 2016 at 08:00 AM
3 minute read
Clifford Chance (CC) is among four law firms advising on the $622m (£471m) purchase of a stake in the Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) – a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns New York's Empire State Building – by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) .
Yoel Kranz, a partner in Goodwin Procter's real estate M&A and capital markets group in New York, took the lead for ESRT on its sale of a 9.9% stake to the QIA, which manages Qatar's domestic and foreign investments. Kranz worked with Goodwin tax practice chair Neal Sandford and real estate tax partner Edward Glazer.
CC New York tax partner Richard Catalano and Proskauer Rose capital markets partner Arnold Jacobs also advised ESRT, which fielded an in-house team led by general counsel Thomas Keltner.
ESRT, formerly known as Malkin Holdings, was formed through an initial public offering (IPO) in October 2013. That IPO, on which CC took the lead for Malkin, came after years of litigation between namesake Peter Malkin and legendary New York businesswoman Leona Helmsley.
A source with knowledge of ESRT's deal with the Qataris told the New York Law Journal that teams of lawyers handled corporate governance, regulatory and tax aspects for the transaction, which is one of the first purchases in an equity REIT by a sovereign wealth fund. The deal needed to be structured to include just shy of a 10% interest in ESRT, since foreign investors do not enjoy certain US tax protections, a critical component of most New York commercial real estate deals.
Goodwin, which did not have a role on ESRT's IPO in 2013, began doing work for the REIT the following year. The firm is known for its real estate capital markets expertise, having handled a $2.29bn (£1.74bn) IPO in late 2014 for Paramount Group, the largest ever public listing by a REIT.
Oliver Brahmst, global co-head of private equity at White & Case in New York, took the lead for the QIA on the deal. The Doha-based investor has previously turned to White & Case to advise on a variety of transactional matters. Other White & Case lawyers working on the deal include tax partners John Lillis and Andrew Kreisberg, and securities partner David Johansen.
The cash infusion from the sale will reportedly provide ESRT with the financing needed to acquire additional properties for its portfolio, which includes investment in other commercial properties in addition to the Empire State Building in the New York metropolitan area.
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