TriGate Sells Two TX Office Buildings

Dallas-based TriGate Capital has sold two office buildings in Addison, Texas to two separate investors in deals brokered by Colliers International's Dallas office. TriGate originally acquired the properties in 2009 as part of a three building portfolio from GE Capital, which gained ownership of the buildings after an investor that purchased the properties in 2006 defaulted on its loans. Last year, TriGate sold the third building in the portfolio at 14850 Quorum Dr in Addison to Libitzky Property Cos. TriGate nor the purchasing agents or companies did not disclose the sale price for any of the properties.

"TriGate's investment strategy is to implement and complete a full capital improvement program in the buildings and to aggressively lease the vacant space," TriGate had said of the properties in 2009. "TriGate believes that its sponsorship and capital along with the buildings' quality and location will be very attractive to potential tenants in the North Dallas market." The following year, Trigate Capital launched major renovations on all three properties and enlisted Capstar Commercial Real Estate Services to manage the buildings.

The Landmark, a 158,650 square foot office property located in the Quorum micro market in Addison, was sold to a joint venture between Libitzky Property Company and Sunwest Real Estate Group; the companies were self-represented in the transaction, and terms were not disclosed. Located at 14800 Landmark Drive, the eight story building was originally constructed in 1985 inside the Quorum office park, which is convenient to Addison, the Dallas North Tollway and the greater Far North Dallas submarket. The building features an open, two-level atrium lobby comprised of polished granite walls and stainless steel finishes.

Emerald Plaza, a 74,182-square-foot office building at 14900 Landmark Boulevard, was sold to Grander Capital Partners, which represented itself in the transaction. Also built in 1985, the six story property features an efficient and elegant building design and 100% underground parking with direct elevator access. Collier's promotional materials indicate that the property was 85% leased at the time of sale.

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GE sells $3.7B Portfolio to Kensington

GE announced this week that it had completed the sale of a $3.7 billion portfolio of loans from its UK home lending business to Kensington Mortgage Company Limited. The deal, GE's third loan portfolio sale this year, nearly halves the size of the company's UK home lending business to less than $7 billion, according to a Reuters report. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, the acquisition is a big gain for the mortgage company. Kensington Mortgage, which is controlled by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and TPG Special Situations Partners, was previously sold to the joint venture by Investec Plc in September 2014, in an all-cash deal valued at about $290 million.

The sale is part of a plan to return to GE's industrial roots and sell most of finance-related assets, according to a CBS News report. "We are pleased with the progress we are making to reach and close agreements for our businesses and assets. The speed and value we have achieved is a testament to the hard work of our GE Capital teams around the world," said Keith Sherin, GE Capital chairman and CEO, in a press release. GE Capital once accounted for almost half of GE's profit. However, the unit's rising funding costs nearly sank the entire company during the 2008 financial crisis.

With the addition of the UK home lending portfolio, the total for GE Capital 2015 announced sales is approximately $90 billion. Earlier this month, BMO Financial Group agreed to acquire GE Capital's transportation finance business in the US and Canada, in a bid to expand its commercial banking business.

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Goldman Picks Up GE Capital's Deposits

GE announced this week that it would be selling GE Capital Bank's U.S. online deposit platform along with all deposits of GE Capital Bank to Goldman Sachs Bank USA, transferring approximately $16 billion of deposits to GS Bank. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and relates only to the deposit platform and deposits of GE Capital Bank. GE expects to wind down the remaining operations of GE Capital Bank following closing of the transaction, subject to regulatory approval. Scott Roberts, president of GE Capital Bank, is expected to join Goldman's banking unit to oversee the platform, GE said.

"As we work to reduce the size and complexity of GE Capital, this transaction is another key step. It advances GE Capital's new strategic direction by facilitating closure of one of our two U.S. bank charters, which we believe will help us become less systemically important," said Keith Sherin, GE Capital chairman and CEO. "I am confident that under GS Bank our deposit customers will continue to receive the high level of service and commitment they have come to expect," he added. GE announced in June that it would effectively break up its finance arm in order to avoid the added scrutiny that comes with being one of the non-bank firms that regulators oversee as if it were a mega bank.

"This transaction achieves greater funding diversification and strengthens the liquidity profile of GS Bank by providing an additional deposit-gathering channel," Liz Beshel Robinson, Goldman Sachs's treasurer, said in a statement. That funding objective is the establishment of an online consumer lending platform, and follows Goldman's hiring this past spring of Harit Talwar, formerly with Discover Financial Services. "Sluggish markets and new regulations have diminished historically profitable areas like trading, forcing Goldman and other Wall Street companies to hunt for new sources of revenue," the New York Times reported in June.

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Colony Capital Moving Forward on $1.6B Industrial Deal

Santa Monica, California-based Colony Capital LLC is buying a 291-building industrial portfolio from Irving, Texas-based Cobalt Capital Partners according to several reports this week. Commercial Mortgage Alert reported Friday that GE Capital has agreed to provide $1.2 billion of the portfolio’s purchase price via a floating-rate loan for the 291-property industrial portfolio. The terms of the loan are now being finalized, with Colony weighing a menu of options from GE that include varying amounts of proceeds tied to the degree of leverage, according to people familiar with the process.

Colony has agreed to pay about $1.6 billion for the 29.5 million-square-foot portfolio, which contains mostly light-industrial buildings of less than 250,000 sf in 18 markets across the U.S. The 291 buildings are 85% leased by more than 650 tenants. Eastdil and CBRE are jointly brokering the sale on behalf of Cobalt, CM Alert reported. CoStar reported last week that Colony, which is about to see a merger of two affiliated entities, beat out such would-be buyers as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Blackstone Group and TPG. Blackstone is itself preparing to sell its IndCor Properties industrial platform, Bloomberg reported last week.

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Pittsburgh's Tallest Office Tower Sold for $250M

The U.S. Steel Tower, a Pittsburgh landmark and tallest building, traded hands this week for $250 million as Area Property Partners sold the property to a New York-based investment group according to a Daily Mail article. Area Property Partners originally acquired the property in 1999 when they bought part of a $265 million mortgage held by GE Capital. Peter Braverman, a shareholder in the buildings' managers Winthrop Management, said that the current building management will stay in place after the transition. "Every new owner tries to improve a building and provide better services, but there are no dramatic plans at this point," Braverman said.

The 64-story building at 600 Grant Street, completed in 1970 and built by U.S. Steel, is 92% occupied with major tenants including the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, U.S. Steel Corp., and PNC Bank. "We could get to 100 percent (occupation), based on the expansion of UPMC," said Mark Karasick, a principal in the new ownership group. UPMC's renovation of executive and administrative offices at the tower won LEED-Silver certification for energy conservation and environmental design.

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GE Capital Selling Mexico Assets to Grupo Santander

Last week the financial company Grupo Financiero Santander agreed to purchase GE Capital's $2 billion mortgage business in Mexico according to a BusinessWeek article. Santander will acquire the business for $162 million plus the assumption of debt in a deal that's expected to close next year. GE Capital Chief Executive Officer Mark Begor said the sale is in conformity with the company's plan to exit non-core businesses.

Santander had about 34 billion pesos in home loans at the end of October, putting it fifth in Mexico behind BBVA Bancomer SA, Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB, Citigroup Inc.’s Banamex unit and Bank of Nova Scotia, according to government data. "There's some well-known pieces of GE Capital that will be disposition candidates or run-off candidates," said Jeff Immelt, GE's Chairman and chief executive, at an investor meeting this month.

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