We represented Choice Hotels International in its approximately $675 million acquisition of Radisson Hotel Group Americas.

We represented HBC in its investment in Convene and creation of a leading flex space operator.

We advised Blantyre Capital on its acquisition of a Frankfurt hotel and partnership with the LyvInn hotel brand.

We represented TA Associates in its contemplated acquisition of a 25% stake in Foncia, a major provider of residential property management services in Europe, majority owned by Partners Group.

We represented Centerbridge Partners in its acquisition of a controlling stake in Realogy's title insurance underwriter, as part of a strategic agreement to form a title insurance underwriter joint venture with Realogy.

We represented Brookfield Asset Management in its strategic partnership with King Street Properties, including an investment of approximately $1.5 billion in equity capital towards King Street's life science real estate pipeline.

We represented DigitalBridge Group, a leading global digital infrastructure REIT, in its $3.2 billion agreement to sell its Wellness Infrastructure business to real estate investment firms Highgate Capital Investments and Aurora Health Network.

We represented Capital Senior Living in a strategic PIPE transaction with investor Conversant Capital.

We represented BrightSpire Capital, Inc., formerly known as Colony Credit Real Estate, in the $223 million sale of a portfolio of development and non-accrual investments.

We represented a prominent life insurance company lender as acquisition and construction lender on the $330 million Plaza District office tower development. (2021)

Represented StoneVest, Wulf Meinel and Bruce Jenyon on the formation of the IPE platform and IPE on the acquisition of the first two properties.

Represented Five Arrows Principal Investments and IK Investment Partners on agreement for Insight Partners to invest in iad, the leading French digital network of real estate agents.

We represented Colony Capital in its $2.8 billion sale of six hospitality portfolios to Highgate, a real estate investment and hospitality management company.

Represented Colony Capital, Inc. in its $5.9 billion agreement to sell Colony Industrial, the industrial real estate assets and affiliated industrial operating platform of Colony Capital, to Blackstone.

Represented Choice Hotels International in its acquisition of the brand and franchise business of extended-stay hotel brand WoodSpring Suites.

We represented BMO Capital Markets, as financial advisor to the special committee of American Realty Capital – Retail Centers of America, Inc.’s (RCA’s) board of directors, in connection with RCA’s agreement to merge with American Finance Trust, Inc. (AFIN) in an approximately $1.4 billion deal creating a retail-focused REIT.

We represented Colony Capital, Inc. in its $17 billion merger of equals with NorthStar Asset Management Group Inc. and NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. to create Colony NorthStar, Inc., with $58 billion of assets under management.

We represented RegionalCare Hospital Partners, an owner and operator of eight regional acute care facilities in seven U.S. states, in connection with the acquisition of RegionalCare by funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management.

We represented the Special Committee of the Board of Directors for Arbor Realty Trust in connection with Arbor Realty Trust’s pending acquisition of Arbor Commercial Mortgage’s agency platform.

We represented real estate investment and finance company Colony Financial, Inc. in its $1.6 billion acquisition of Cobalt Capital Partners and its highly diversified portfolio of 256 primarily light industrial assets.

We represented Washington Prime Group Inc. in its $4.3 billion acquisition of Glimcher Realty Trust, including advising WPG on Glimcher’s $1.09 billion simultaneous sale of  two malls--Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth, New Jersey and University Park Village in Fort Worth, Texas--to Simon Property Group.

We have advised and continue to advise Brookfield Asset Management Inc. in connection with its cornerstone investment agreement with respect to giant regional mall developer/owner/operator General Growth Properties.  This arrangement will facilitate GGP’s planned exit from one of the most significant real estate bankruptcies in history.

We have advised and continue to advise Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. in connection with real estate matters relating to its definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Health Care REIT, Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.9 billion (including debt).

We represented Ventas, Inc. and its affiliates in connection with the following transactions:

• Acquisition of Cogdell Spencer Inc., a REIT focused on medical facilities, for approximately $770 million including assumed debt.
• Acquisition of Provident Senior Living Trust in a transaction valued at $1.2 billion. 

Represented Brandywine Realty Trust in its acquisition of approximately 3.5 million square feet of Class A office space through the acquisition of The Rubenstein Company, L.P. for more than $600 million.

Represented Warburg Pincus’ Storage Mart Partners in its sale to a management-led buyout group for approximately $350 million.

We advised AREA Property Partners in its sale to Ares Management LLC. AREA Property Partners is a leading real estate management firm investing across North America, Europe and India. The transaction included the acquisition of the minority stake in AREA held by National Australia Bank. 

We advised on Brookfield’s $426 million acquisition of MPG Office Trust, representing Australia’s Future Fund, a key investor, in certain aspects of the transaction. 

Represented Harbor Group International in the acquisition of a 36 apartment portfolio for $1.85 billion, the 5th largest apartment portfolio sale to date.

Represented Colony Capital, Inc. in the $1.16 billion acquisition of a national portfolio of 54 light and bulk industrial buildings by its affiliates.

Represented IO Data Centers LLC, a leading colocation data center services provider, in the sale of its business to Iron Mountain Incorporated for a purchase price of $1.34 billion.

Represented Hudson's Bay Company in connection with its agreement to sell the Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue building to WeWork Property Advisors in a transaction valued at $850 million. After the 2018 holiday season, the Lord & Taylor flagship store is intended to be converted into WeWork’s New York headquarters, WeWork office space, and a redesigned Lord & Taylor store of approximately 150,000 sq. ft. The sale is part of a series of strategic transactions that demonstrate the value of HBC’s global real estate.

We represented Paramount Group and its affiliates in connection with the following transactions:

• Acquisition of Market Center, a two-building Class A 753,000 square-foot office complex in San Francisco’s South Financial District, for $722 million.
• Acquisition of 111 Sutter Street, a 293,000 square foot office building located in San Francisco’s North Financial District, for $227 million.
• Acquisition of 50 Beale Street, a Class A office building located in San Francisco, from a joint venture of Rockefeller Group Development Corp. and Mitsubishi Estate of New York.
• Sale, together with Sherwood Equities, of 440 Ninth Avenue in New York City, an 18-story, 400,000 square foot office building, to an affiliate of Jowa Real Estate Company, Limited, a Japanese public company. The sale represented Jowa’s first acquisition of real estate in the United States.
• Recapitalization of a 49 percent interest in its One Market Plaza office tower, which is a 1.6 million square-foot Class A office tower, one of the largest in San Francisco, and includes such prominent tenants as Google.
• Numerous preferred equity investments in New York including investments in 2 Herald Square in Manhattan and 470 Vanderbilt Avenue in Brooklyn.
• Acquisition, together with its joint venture partners, of One Court Square, a 1.5 million square-foot, 50-story office property located in Long Island City, New York for approximately $500 million.
• Takeover of sole ownership of 900 Third Avenue through Paramount’s acquisition of its partner’s 49 percent interest in the building.
• Acquisition of 440 Ninth Avenue by a joint venture between Paramount and Sherwood Equities, Inc.
• Acquisition of 220 West 42nd Street (a/k/a Candler Tower) for $208 million and its subsequent disposition.

We represented DiamondRock and its affiliates in connection with the following transactions:

• Sale of the 386-room Oak Brook Hills Resort and the adjacent Willow Crest Golf Club, located in Oak Brook, Illinois.
• Sale of the 487-room Torrance Marriot South Bay, located in Torrance, California.
• Acquisition of a 4-hotel portfolio – the Hilton Boston, the Westin Washington D.C., the Westin San Diego and the Hilton Burlington – for $495 million from affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partners.
• Acquisition of the Radisson Lexington Hotel located in New York City for $335 million.
• Acquisition and subsequent sale of the Minneapolis Hilton.
• Acquisition and subsequent sale of the Hilton Garden Inn Chelsea located in New York City.

Represented Meadow Partners and Trammell Crow Company (TCC) in their joint acquisition of an 80 percent condominium interest in the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Building, located at 888 16th Street, NW in downtown Washington, DC.

Represented a family business in its sale of its interest in 817 Broadway, a 140,000-square-foot commercial building located at the corner of East 12th Street in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, marking the first time the building changed ownership in more than 60 years.

Represented St. John's University in connection with the following transactions:

• The sale of its 170-acre Oakdale property to Amity University, a nonprofit international educational organization, and the leaseback of a portion of the campus.
• The $223 million sale of its Manhattan campus property at 101 Murray Street to a joint venture of New York City real estate firms Fisher Brothers and The Witkoff Group.

Represented WP Glimcher in its sale of Northlake Mall, located in Atlanta, Georgia, and Forest Mall, located in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to Dallas-based ATR Corinth Partners.

Represented B&L Management Company in connection with the $690 million sale of 24 apartment buildings located in Chelsea and the Upper East Side in Manhattan to Blackstone and Fairstead. 

Represented an affiliate of Ares Management, L.P. in the sale of  an office condominium unit comprising approximately 375,000 square feet in the 1 million square foot mixed use complex located at 1111 Marcus Avenue on Long Island, New York to North Shore University Hospital. 

Representing Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation in connection with a $170 million preferred equity investment in a REIT holding a portfolio of primarily student housing assets.

Represented The American Home a definitive agreement for the sale of a portfolio of single-family homes to Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp. for $263 million. The portfolio comprises approximately 2,460 single-family homes located in the southeastern United States, and the transaction was cited as one of the largest bulk purchases in the rental-home industry. 

We represented Washington Prime Group Inc. in its $4.3 billion acquisition of Glimcher Realty Trust, including advising WPG on Glimcher’s $1.09 billion simultaneous sale of  two malls--Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth, New Jersey and University Park Village in Fort Worth, Texas--to Simon Property Group.

We represented a large investment firm in the acquisition of:

• “Oak Knoll,” a vacant, undeveloped parcel of land in Oakland and the site of a former U.S. Naval hospital.
• “Lighthouse Landing,” a vacant, undeveloped parcel of land in Sleepy Hollow, New York and the site of a former General Motors products assembly plant. 

We represented Lantern Asset Management and the ownership group in Montage Hotels & Resorts’ addition of Montage Kapalua Bay to its luxury hotel collection.

Represented Sherwood Equities, Inc. in its acquisition of 370 Lexington Avenue with its equity partner, JPMorgan Chase.

We represented The Mills Corporation and its affiliates in connection with the following transactions:

• The acquisition of a 50 percent interest in General Motors Pension Trust’s regional nine-mall, 9.6 million square foot property portfolio in a $1.033 billion transaction.
• Acquisition of St. Enoch Centre in Glasgow, Scotland for $524 million.
• Acquisition of two regional shopping malls and related development components for approximately $452 million.
• Sale of Mills’ interest in three retail malls – Vaughan Mills (Ontario, Canada), St. Enoch Centre (Glasgow, Scotland) and Madrid Xanadú (Madrid, Spain) – for approximately $981 million.
• Sale of a 50 percent joint-venture interest in its Del Amo Fashion Center for $244.5 million.

We represented New Plan in connection with the following transactions:

• Sale of 69 community and neighborhood shopping centers in a transaction valued at $928 million in cash and $40 million in equity.
• Sale of 53 garden apartment complexes located in 14 states for approximately $380 million.

We represented Scout Real Estate Capital and its affiliates in connection with the following transactions:

• Acquisition and subsequent disposition of the Wyndham Bermuda Resort and Spa located in Southampton, Bermuda.
• Acquisition of the Harbor View Hotel and the Kelley House Hotel located in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, MA, and subsequent disposition of the Kelly House Hotel.
• Acquisition of the Sea Crest Resort and Conference Center located in Cape Cod, MA.
• Acquisition of The Westmoor Club located in Nantucket, MA.
• Acquisition of Plantation Inn located in Crystal River, FL.
• Acquisition of approximately 6,000 acres of developable land on the “Big Island” of Hawaii.

Represented Paramount Group, Inc. in its $860 million refinancing of 1301 Avenue of the Americas, a 1.8-million-square-foot Class A, trophy office building located between 52nd and 53rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan.

Represented Colony Capital, Inc. in connection with multiple loans secured by assets in its light industrial portfolio including the following transactions:

• A $1.515 billion financing secured by a portfolio of 158 U.S. healthcare properties consisting of medical office buildings, senior housing properties, skilled nursing facilities and hospitals.
  
• A refinancing secured by interests in multiple select service, extended stay and limited service hotels located in 15 states.
• The $44 million portfolio mortgage loan secured by eight properties in Georgia.
• Two portfolio mortgage loans in the amount of $67.6 million and $25.8 million secured by 13 properties in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas.
• Two mortgage loans in the amount of $93 million and $59 million secured by 25 properties in Arizona, Colorado and Georgia.
• The $50.6 million portfolio mortgage loan secured by 14 properties in Utah and a $71.4 million secured portfolio mortgage loan by 16 properties in Texas.
• Two mortgage loans in the amount of $131.5 million secured by mortgage interests in 15 light industrial warehouses located in the greater Orlando, Florida area, and $56.5 million loan secured by mortgage interests in 10 light industrial warehouses located in the greater Dallas, Texas area.
• The origination of the $108 million financing of a new Conrad Hilton hotel development in downtown Chicago.

Represented Paramount Group and its affiliates in connection with the following transactions:

• The $415 million financing provided to affiliates of Angelo, Gordon & Co. and Normandy Real Estate Partners and secured by the Class A office and retail property located at 575 Lexington Avenue in New York City.
• The $300 million refinancing of 712 Fifth Avenue, a 543,000 square foot Class A office and retail building located in the Plaza District of New York, with its joint venture partner, an affiliate of the German industrialist von Finck family.
• The $850 million mortgage financing of 1301 Avenue of the Americas.
• The $500 million refinancing of 31 West 52nd Street.
• The issuance of mezzanine financing secured by interests in 44 Wall Street, a 289,000-square-foot, 23-story office building owned by The Blackstone Group.

Represented the ownership group of Montage Kapula Bay in the financing of luxury hotel and residences in Maui, Hawaii.

Represented Colony NorthStar, Inc. and Chatham Lodging Trust in connection with:

• A $780 million refinancing secured by interests in 48 select service, extended stay and limited service hotels located in 21 states.
• An $850 million CMBS mortgage loan financing secured by interests in 47 hotels located in 16 states.

Represented DiamondRock in the modification of its mortgage loan financing with respect to the Lexington Hotel in midtown Manhattan. We also advised DiamondRock in the amendment and restatement of its revolving credit facility, a simultaneous new term loan facility, and its subsequent $200 million term loan.

Represented Meadow Partners as the majority investor in the Tribeca Associates-led hotel development project in connection with securing $86 million of mortgage and mezzanine construction financing.  The hotel will be one of the first New York locations for Marriott’s new Moxy branded hotel chain.

Represented GSO Capital Partners, one of the largest credit-focused alternative asset managers in the world and a lending affiliate of The Blackstone Group, together with NewStar Capital, in connection with a term loan facility, a portion of which was loaned in Euros, to finance the acquisition of Akcros Holdings Limited (UK) and its U.S., UK and other foreign subsidiaries by Polymer Additives, an H.I.G. Capital portfolio company. We also advised GSO Capital Partners as the leader of the arrangement of a $550 million second lien secured term loan facility to finance, in part, the acquisition of Belk, Inc. by private equity sponsor Sycamore Partners.

Represented Hudson’s Bay Company in connection with the following transactions:

• The $400 million mortgage refinancing of the Lord & Taylor flagship property in New York City.
• The $1.25 billion CMBS financing deal secured by its flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store property in New York City, which was one of the largest single asset CMBS financings of 2014. The mortgage loan is based upon an assessed value that is significantly more than HBC paid for its entire Saks & Co. portfolio in 2013, and proceeds from the loan will be used in part to fund a renovation of the Saks flagship. In 2015, we represented HBC in connection with its $846 million CMBS loan with JP Morgan, secured by 40 plus Saks stores across the U.S.

Represented WP Glimcher, a premier retail real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership, management and development of shopping centers, in a new 5-year, $500 million term loan. The company used the proceeds to fully repay the remainder of its outstanding bridge loan that was used to finance its acquisition of Glimcher Realty Trust and for other general corporate purposes. 

Represented Faena Group and Access Industries in connection with their development of the Faena District, a new Miami Beach neighborhood intended to include a five-star luxury hotel, world-class residences and cultural components.

We represented Goldman, Sachs & Co. and its affiliates in connection with the following transactions:

• Refinancing by Goldman Sachs Mortgage Company funded by $1.85 billion of first mortgage and mezzanine loans secured by a portfolio of hotels located in Hawaii and San Francisco owned by Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts, LP and Kokusai Kogyo Holdings K.K.
• Acquisition, restructuring and partial syndication of a $180 million mortgage loan secured by the YOTEL New York hotel, a newly-constructed luxury hotel west of Times Square. 
• Sale of mortgage loan participation interests in the mortgage loan secured by the YOTEL New York hotel as well as the sale of senior and junior mezzanine loans secured by the equity interests of the indirect owners of the YOTEL New York hotel.
• Furnishing $1.67 billion in aggregate financing commitments made by Goldman Sachs Credit Partners, L.P. and Deutsche Bank Cayman Islands Branch to Host Marriott Corporation in connection with Host’s agreement to acquire 38 luxury hotels from Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
• The proposed origination of more than $1 billion through mortgage and mezzanine financings secured by a portfolio of resort hotels on the Pacific rim.
• Mini-permanent financing of the Sands Expo Convention Center in Las Vegas.
• Take-out refinancing of a construction loan for a regional mall constructed as part of The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.
• Permanent mortgage financings for affiliates of Vornado Realty Trust and Crescent Real Estate Equities Company.

Represented Sunrise Senior Living in connection with three separate construction loans with multiple lenders, which will be used to finance construction of new facilities in Torrance, California, Burlingame, California and Dublin, Ohio.

Represented Property Markets Group, Inc. in the construction financing for PMG’s development of a 44-story high-rise luxury residential tower to be located at 23-10 Queens Plaza South, Long Island City, New York, including a $148 million construction loan from Deutsche Bank and approximately $40 million in mezzanine financing from Northstar Realty Finance, as well as helping to structure the equity positions of PMG and its capital partners.

We have represented Lehman Brothers and its affiliates in connection with a number of financing matters, including:

• Origination of mortgage and mezzanine loans and preferred equity investments with respect to asset classes as varied as data centers, luxury golf-course developments and urban residential condominium projects.
• Restructuring of various debt and equity relationships with a major private developer and owner of an office building portfolio in the southeastern United States.
• Marketing and potential sale of REO assets acquired by Lehman.

Advised Bank of America, N.A. as Administrative Agent and another financial institution as Joint Lender Arranger, in closing a $1.5 billion amended and restated credit facility to Host Hotels & Resorts, L.P.  Willkie previously advised Bank of America in connection with the original $1 billion multi-borrower, multi-currency revolving credit facility to Host.  The amended and restated credit facility adds a new $500 million term loan tranche to the existing $1 billion revolving facility.

Represented a partnership of Citigroup and Goldman Sachs in furnishing $2.2 billion in aggregate financing commitments for the bid to acquire Extended Stay Hotels by affiliates of Starwood, TPG and Five Mile Capital Partners.

Represented J.P. Morgan in connection with mortgage financings made to two Dow 30 companies.

Represented Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch, as administrative agent, in connection with the revolving credit facility for Host Hotels & Resorts, L.P.

Represented Centerbridge, TPG and Fidelity in connection with the restructuring and refinancing of resort operator Kerzner International Limited.  As part of the restructuring, Willkie's clients funded a new loan to Kerzner and received a 15% ownership interest in the company.

Represented Jiaming Investment (Group) Co., Ltd. in connection with the following:

• A joint venture with Tishman Speyer for the construction of "The Spiral," a 65-story, 2.8 million square-foot office tower to be located at the Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s West Side.
• A $120 million initial investment in a joint-venture led by Tishman Speyer for the development of a 2.9 million square foot commercial building located in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards district. The building is anticipated to be the largest in the burgeoning development district. 

Represented Paramount Group and its affiliates in connection with the following:

• The raising of $600 million worth of commitments for a co-investment fund called the Paramount Gateway Office Club.
• A multi-layer recapitalization transaction to admit affiliates of SRE Group, Ltd., a Chinese investment company, and The John Buck Company, a Chicago-based developer, as partners to develop 75 Howard Street, a parking garage in San Francisco previously wholly owned by Paramount’s Residential Development Fund, into a 133 unit luxury condominium building on the waterfront.
• The $975 million refinancing of One Market Plaza, a 1.6 million-square-foot Class A office and retail property comprising two office towers in the South Financial District of San Francisco, with joint venture partner Blackstone Group; as well as in the initial creation of the joint venture and prior $588 million sale of 49% interest in One Market Plaza to Blackstone.
• Negotiation of a joint venture with a prominent Israeli insurance company and negotiation of a co-investment with the PA State Employees Retirement System, in connection with Paramount’s acquisition of 50 Beale Street, a Class A office building located in San Francisco.

Represented Washington Prime Group in its agreement providing for a joint venture with O’Connor Mall Partners, L.P. owning seven of Washington Prime’s open-air properties, which are valued at approximately $600 million.

Represented The Generation Companies in its $215 million recapitalization and roll-up of four portfolios comprising 23 hotels, consolidating them into one portfolio with its new joint venture partner, a fund controlled by StepStone Real Estate Group. 

Represented Hudson’s Bay Company, owner of Saks Fifth Avenue and other leading department stores, in the sales of $533 million and $50 million of its equity in HBS Global Properties, HBC’s real estate joint venture with Simon Property Group.

We represented Meadow Partners in a joint-venture acquisition and development project with developer Slate Property Group. The joint venture acquired the properties, located on the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street in Brooklyn, New York, and will develop them into a 172,000 square foot mixed-use project. 

Represented Monarch Alternative Capital in connection with the following:

• Formation of a 50/50 joint venture to purchase, remediate and develop approximately 15 acres of waterfront property in historic southeast Boston, Massachusetts.
• Formation of a joint venture with a local developer to purchase and redevelop certain real property located on a resort near San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• A joint venture investment in a multi-tenant office building in Norwood, Massachusetts. 

Represented H.I.G. Realty Partners and privately held, New York-based real estate company Urban Muse in the joint venture acquisition of a downtown NYC property for $52 million, including negotiating an approximately $68 million construction loan and approximately $24 million in mezzanine financing.

Represented Hudson’s Bay Company, owner of Saks Fifth Avenue and other leading department stores, in an agreement to form a real estate-focused joint venture with Simon Property Group, valued at $1.8 billion. 

We represented Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. and its affiliates in connection with the following:

• Formation of a joint venture with CHT Partners, a subsidiary of CNL Healthcare Trust, Inc., to which Sunrise transferred seven consolidated senior living communities (consisting of 687 units), valuing the joint venture at approximately $226 million.
• Negotiated the purchase and sale agreement for the buyout of its partners’ entire 90% direct and indirect equity interest in a joint venture that owns a portfolio of 17 senior care facilities located throughout the United Kingdom, and the extension and modification of the joint venture’s existing £400 million mortgage financing with the Bank of Scotland PLC.
• Negotiating a conditional purchase and sale agreement for the buyout of partner HVP Sun Investor, LLC (Heitman) entire  80 percent interest in a joint venture which indirectly owns a portfolio of 4 senior living facilities for a purchase price calculated based on an overall enterprise valuation of $141 million.
• $45 million buyout of partner Morgan Stanley’s entire 80 percent interest in a joint venture which indirectly owns 15 Sunrise-managed assisted living facilities, and the extension and modification of the joint venture’s existing $370.5 million loan from HSH Nordbank AG.
• Formation of a joint venture with a subsidiary of CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc.  As part of the transaction, Sunrise contributed to the joint venture its entire interest in another joint venture between Sunrise and an affiliate of Arcapita, its partner in 29 Sunrise-managed communities, and Arcapita sold its entire joint venture interest to the newly formed Sunrise/CNL joint venture.

Represented Paramount and Colony in the formation of a joint venture for purposes of making a $125 million preferred equity investment in connection with the acquisition of One Court Square, a 1.5 million square-foot, 50-story office property located in Long Island City, New York.

Represented Colony Financial, Inc. in a joint venture to acquire a majority interest in an approximately $250 million recourse multi-property mortgage loan to Exclusive Resorts.  The loan is secured by 269 luxury residential properties located at 26 resorts in the United States and various international destinations.

We represented non-debtor affiliates of Lehman Brothers in connection with the following:

• The complex restructuring of an existing joint venture relationship with Goldman Sachs in connection with a recapitalization of a portfolio of multi-family residential properties in the Southeast United States. The transaction also involved the closing of a new $181,500,000 mortgage financing with Freddie Mac, and an equity conversion and partial pay-down of $332,000,000 of existing mortgage indebtedness.
• A joint venture with real estate developer Flank Inc. for the acquisition of an apartment building in the West Village section of Manhattan.  The venture intends to renovate and convert the building into a multi-unit residential condominium. 

We represented a preeminent investment firm and its affiliates in connection with the following:

• Joint venture to acquire the 200 residence Trump Hollywood condominium in Hollywood Beach, FL.  The interests in the property were acquired by a purchase and subsequent foreclosure of the then existing secured financing for a purchase price of approximately $151 million.
• Joint venture with an affiliate of Rosemont Realty to acquire two office buildings located in Dallas for $80 million.
• Joint venture with an affiliate of Fortune International to acquire vacant waterfront property in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, in contemplation of the future development of a luxury high-rise residential complex.
• Joint venture with SunCal for the construction of base facilities for the United States Army in Northern California and the development of master planned communities featuring residential neighborhoods, parks, open space areas and commercial uses.

Represented Hudson's Bay Company in agreements with WeWork to lease retail space within select HBC department stores, including Galeria Kaufhof in Frankfurt. The lease agreements are part of a series of strategic transactions that demonstrate the value of HBC’s global real estate.

Two Sigma Investments, LP in the first third-party lease for space at The Bridge at Cornell Tech, a new building on Cornell University’s under-construction Roosevelt Island Technology Campus.

Represented Meadow Partners in a joint-venture acquisition and development project with developer Slate Property Group. The joint venture acquired the properties, located at One Flatbush on the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street in Brooklyn, New York, and will develop them into an approximately 170,000 square foot mixed-use project. Represented the joint venture partners in securing a $110 million loan to develop the project at One Flatbush.

Represented Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in connection with Saks OFF 5TH’s lease of 47,333 square feet in Manhattan’s Tower57, which will house the first Saks OFF 5TH in New York City.

Represented at John’s University in its lease for 71,000 square-feet of space at 51 Astor Place, a new, Edward J. Minskoff, 12-story, 400,000-square-foot office building.

Represented Bloomberg LP on the following leasing and development work:

• Development of The Bloomberg – JFK Airport Park Solar Project, a state-of-the-art solar project that will enable Bloomberg's global headquarters in midtown Manhattan and its downtown data center to partially convert to clean solar energy.
• Lease of 700,000 square feet of office space for world headquarters at 731 Lexington Avenue in New York City, and the subsequent consolidation and extension of space.
• Expansion of Bloomberg’s footprint at 919 Third Avenue by approximately 200,000 additional square feet.
• Lease of 400,000 square feet of additional office space at 120 Park Avenue in New York City.
• Acquisition of a site in the City of London financial district for the construction of the client’s European headquarters. Two buildings will be constructed: a larger one of more than 500,000 square feet that will serve as the headquarters, and the other being a “speculative” office building development.
• Significant office leases in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
• Lease of a single-story data center facility of approximately 131,805 square feet of gross floor area located in Orangetown, New York.

Represented St. Ann’s Warehouse with respect to the redevelopment and restoration of a historic tobacco warehouse located in Brooklyn Bridge Park, creating a performing arts facility and community cultural center.

Represented and continue to represent Morgan Stanley in negotiating office and retail leases with tenants at various buildings owned by Morgan Stanley in New York City, including 2 Park Avenue, 500 Park Avenue and 1285 Avenue of the Americas.

In April 2012 we represented a major commercial bank in connection with a lease of almost 500,000 square feet of office space in midtown Manhattan.

Willkie has been engaged separately by a large commercial bank and one of the nation’s largest hedge funds to represent them in connection with their exploration of the development of new state of the art headquarters facilities.

Represented Lehman Brothers in its leasing and subleasing of approximately 430,000 square feet of office and ancillary space at 1271 Avenue of the Americas (The Time-Life Building).

Represented CIBC World Markets in negotiating its triple net lease of the entire 30 story, 1.2 million square foot building located at 300 Madison Avenue, from Brookfield Properties.

Represented a joint venture between Brookfield Properties and CIBC World Markets in connection with the leasing of 900,000 square feet of space at 300 Madison Avenue to Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

Represented McKinsey & Co. in connection with various lease transactions for its offices in the United States and around the globe.  We also advised McKinsey & Co. on certain design and construction matters in connection with the build-out of its various offices.

Advised the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in connection with its exploration of a potential transaction that would result in the modernization of the Port Authority’s bus terminal located on Eighth Avenue off Times Square, and the addition of a new first class, environmentally sustainable office and retail complex to the midtown Manhattan skyline.

Represented Beacon in the negotiation of a lease to the publicly traded parent of John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. of 1 million square feet at Boston’s John Hancock Tower. The lease was negotiated as a leaseback arrangement in connection with Beacon’s acquisition of the building.

Represented Paramount in connection with the following leasing transactions:

• The negotiation of a lease to Deutsche Bank AG of the entire 47 story, 1.6 million square foot building located at 60 Wall Street. 
• The negotiation of a lease to Bertelsmann Property, Inc., an affiliate of Bertelsmann, Inc., of almost 400,000 square feet at 1540 Broadway. 

Represented the ownership of 1285 Avenue of the Americas  in connection with law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP's extension of its New York headquarters lease.  The lease covers 19 floors, plus concourse level space in the building.

Represented Trinity Church in the City of New York in connection with its execution of a 99-year ground lease of 330 Hudson Street.

Represented and continue to represent Ruben Companies in connection with the leasing of its office and retail portfolio in New York City.