Sunday, July 19, 2009

J.P. Morgan Seeking Sale Leaseback of 23 Building Portfolio in U.S.

Real Estate Finance & Investment - July 17, 2009

Houlihan Lokey has launched the sale of a 23 office buildings totaling 7.1 million square feet on behalf of J.P. Morgan. The portfolio, the largest single offering of office buildings so far this year, includes the 2.2 million-square-foot One Chase Manhattan Plaza and the 1.1 million-square-foot 4 New York Plaza in Manhattan. Also offered is a 865,000-square-foot condominium interest in 45-story Chase Center Seattle and 712 Main St., a 35-story 794,000-square-foot art deco tower in Houston. The bank will consider offers for the whole portfolio, regional pools or single assets.

J.P. Morgan plans to lease back about 60% of the space, including seven buildings that are fully leased to the bank. An investor familiar with the offering speculated the sale may be a move to reorganize the bank's investments following its acquisitions of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.

Market players said it would be difficult to assess the portfolio's value ­ like 'throwing darts,' as one put it ­ given uncertainty about the rent rolls, the seller's motivation, whether J.P. Morgan will offer seller financing and a lack of recent comparable sales. Sphere: Related Content

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