Empire State Realty Trust Files $1B NYSE IPO

Empire State Realty Trust, the company that controls the landmark Empire State Building in New York City, disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing this month that it is planning a $1 billion initial public offering (IPO) in the coming months. Empire State Realty Trust will list on the New York Stock Exchange and trade under the "ESB" ticker, according to its SEC fillings. The realty trust controls 12 properties including the Empire State Building, two Westchester County properties in downtown White Plains and Harrison, and several other locations in Connecticut. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will advise on the IPO.

According to Bloomberg, Malkin Holdings LLC, which owns the Empire State Building in conjunction with the estate of Leona Helmsley, said last November that it was considering joining a new REIT. Malkin Holdings is led by Peter Malkin and his son Anthony Malkin. The move is the culmination of efforts by the Malkin family to simplify control of its sprawling real estate holdings, reported the New York Times. The IPO will allow the Malkins to convert the equity held by other investors into stock in the new company, Empire State Realty Trust.

"Because it's got an iconic building as a centerpiece, I expect it will be successful anyway, but you're going to have more or less a higher percentage" of individual investors, said Lawrence Longua, director of the REIT Center at New York University's Schack Institute of Real Estate in a Businessweek article. For institutional investors, the owners "are very recognized names in the industry, so I suspect all in all, it'll do well," he said.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Nomura Takes 900,000SF in Midtown

Worldwide Plaza signed a new tenant this week as Nomura Holding America Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings, Inc., leased over 900,000 square feet of space in the Midtown tower for its Americas headquarters. According to a GlobeSt.com article, Nomura expects that by mid-2013 the company will relocate from its current home at 2 World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan, where it subleases from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. John Cefaly, Rob Lowe, Clark Finney and Anthony Pasqual of Cushman & Wakefield, along with Ed Donery and David Heller of C&W's Transactions Group, represented Nomura in the deal. Peter Duncan, George Comfort and Matt Coudert represented building ownership in-house.

"We are delighted to welcome one of the financial services industry’s global leaders to Worldwide Plaza," said Peter Duncan.

"This demonstrates our long-term commitment to build a top-tier investment bank in the US," said Atsushi Yoshikawa, President & CEO Nomura Holding America Inc.

Nomura has leased 20 full floors in the 1.8 million square foot Class A office tower between 49th and 50th Streets on Eighth Avenue. Nomura is taking 10 vacant floors as well as 10 floors presently occupied by Universal Music Group, which is leaving the building at the end of the year.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Commerzbank Signs 15 Year Lease at Two World Financial Center

Commerzbank AG signed a 15 year lease this week for 173,000 square feet at 2 World Financial Center. Commerzbank has maintained its US headquarters at Brookfield Office Properties' World Financial Center since the 1990s. Brookfield said that the Commerzbank lease, when coupled with OppenheimerFunds' decision in February to stay at 2 WFC after its sublease from Bank of America Merrill Lynch expires, represents more than 400,000 square feet of Merrill sublease space that has been converted to direct at the 2.3-million-square-foot office property.

"We are pleased that these two respected financial services institutions have chosen to extend their tenancy at the World Financial Center and remain committed to Lower Manhattan," said Ric Clark, president and chief executive officer of Brookfield Office Properties.

2 World Financial Center is one of four office towers of the 8-million-square-foot commercial complex on the west side of Lower Manhattan overlooking the Hudson River.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.