_Economy and Finance

Worldwide Plaza Confirms Recapitalization Plans By Karsten Strauss 11/21/12 1:37pm Worldwide Plaza will definitely look to recapitalize, following several months of lingering on the auction block. Sellers, George Comfort & Sons and RCG Longview, had purchased the building – located at 825 Eighth Avenue – in 2009 for just under $600 million. http://commercialobserver.com/2012/11/worldwide-plaza-confirms-refinance-plans/

Worldwide Plaza may be off the block With bids lagging the $1.5 billion target price, the owners of the 59-story West Side office tower are said to be thinking about holding off and settling for a re-fi now. BY DANIEL GEIGER NOVEMBER 19, 2012 1:37 P.M. The owners of Worldwide Plaza have begun considering a refinancing of their 1.9 million square foot tower, rather than the sale they had been pursuing, several sources say. http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20121119/REAL_ESTATE/121119923

Worldwide Plaza Bids Coming in Slightly Below George Comfort’s Lofty Targets By Daniel Geiger 10/01/12 6:04pm Bids for Worldwide Plaza are coming in below the sky-high projections sellers George Comfort & Sons and RCG Longview had hoped for when the partners (finally) put the nearly two million-square-foot office tower on the market in recent weeks. http://commercialobserver.com/2012/10/worldwide-plaza-bids-coming-in-slightly-below-george-comforts-lofty-targets/

Executive Interview with Chris LaBianca September 17th, 2009 | Author: Dave Jacobs Christopher LaBianca President RCG Longview Christopher LaBianca joined the RCG Longview series of Real Estate Debt Funds in April of 2008 and serves as the President of their current high yield debt fund RCG Longview Debt Fund IV, L.P. His responsibilities include oversight of the origination, underwriting, closing, servicing and asset management of all fund investments. Since the inception of RCG Longview Debt Fund Series in 1999, the managers, Peter Cohen and Michael Boxer (Ramius Capital Group, LLC),Jeffrey Feil and Jay Anderson (The Feil Organization), Morton Olshan (Mall Properties), and Jon Estreich (Estreich & Company), have originated more than $1.8 billion in real estate mezzanine debt and other related instruments through RCG Longview fund vehicles. The investment strategy of the funds is driven by the collective experience of the managers as owners and operators of real estate. R...

$600M Worldwide Plaza sale approved July 07, 2009 12:32PM http://therealdeal.com/blog/2009/07/07/george-comfort-completes-worldwide-plaza-deal-deutshce-bank-rcg-longview-macklowe-properties/ After the last deal fell apart, George Comfort & Sons and RCG Longview finally completed a $600 million deal with Deutsche Bank to purchase Worldwide Plaza. Rather than creating a joint venture, Deutsche Bank will just provide a $470 million mortgage for George Comfort and put up about $135 million in equity. The price comes to about $375 a square foot for the 1.6 million-square-foot tower at 825 Eighth Avenue, and the deal is expected to close later this month. As part of the agreement, Deutsche Bank will write down the original $1 billion mortgage it held on the property when Macklowe Properties bought the building in 2007. http://therealdeal.com/blog/2009/07/07/george-comfort-completes-worldwide-plaza-deal-deutshce-bank-rcg-longview-macklowe-properties/

George Comfort blames Deutsche Bank for botched Worldwide Plaza deal June 24, 2009 02:58PM http://therealdeal.com/blog/2009/06/24/george-comfort-blames-deutsche-bank-botched-worldwide-plaza-deal-harry-macklowe-rcg-longview-peter-duncan/ George Comfort & Sons President Peter Duncan blamed lender Deutsche Bank for the breakdown in a deal to buy the former Macklowe Properties Worldwide Plaza west of Times Square. The real estate firm and investment partner RCG Longview were “disappointed that the seller, Deutsche Bank AG, has decided not to honor the contract,” Duncan said in a statement. The companies were in contract to purchase the 1.8 million-square-foot office tower at 825 Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th streets after the bank took it back from Macklowe Properties. Duncan held out hope the deal could still be finalized. “We have an executed sales contract, a significant hard deposit in place, and even a closing date of June 30th from the seller’s attorneys. We are ready ...

Worldwide Plaza deal in trouble June 23, 2009 02:00 PM Real estate sources say a deal to sell Worldwide Plaza — one of the seven office towers Harry Macklowe was forced to return to his lenders — has fallen apart. This is the second time a deal to sell the building has fallen through, and both instances involved George Comfort & Sons as the buyer. In the latest transaction to break down, George Comfort and real estate investment firm RCG Longview struck a deal to purchase the 47-story tower for an undisclosed sum earlier this month. Deutsche Bank, which controls the building, would have retained a stake and provided financing for the deal. Sources say Deutsche Bank killed the transaction. According to the Wall Street Journal, the building is on the market again. http://therealdeal.com/blog/2009/06/23/worldwide-plaza-deal-in-trouble/

RCG Longview Remains Positive, Closes Fourth Debt Fund at $602M Posted by CREOPoint Managing Editor on February 10, 2009 at 12:27 pm Commercial Property News Feb 10, 2009 By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor The list of real estate debt investors daunted by the frosty lending climate is a long one, but New York City-based RCG Longview is not one of them. The real estate opportunity manager has closed RCG Longview Debt Fund IV L.P., having raised $602.5 million in equity. Like the previous three investment vehicles, Fund IV will target a variety of real estate transactions ranging from bridge loans and mezzanine loans to bridge mortgages and preferred equity opportunities across the country. http://www.creopoint.com/forum/topics/rcg-longview-remains-positive