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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Cassidy Turley to Be Acquired and Merged with DTZ Under New Ownership

Cassidy Turley, the DC-based real estate investment advisor with transactions valued at $25.8 billion in 2013, announced that it had entered into an agreement with an affiliate of DTZ Investment Holdings to sell 100% of the equity interests of Cassidy Turley. Under the terms of the agreement, which is subject to customary closing conditions, the deal will have Cassidy Turley merging its operations with DTZ Group, which provides a similar combination of real estate services to customers in Europe and Asia. The consortium of public and private investors acquiring Cassidy Turley includes private equity firm TPG, whose other investments include Burger King and Petco; PAG, an Asian investment manager that says it oversees an $11 billion portfolio; and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. The consortium's acquisition of DTZ is scheduled to close around October 31, while the acquisition of Cassidy Turley will be finalized on December 31.

"DTZ recognized, as did TPG, that they needed more scale, and they have the financial backing to get that scale," said Brandon Dobell, an analyst with Chicago-based William Blair & Co., in a Bloomberg article. "And probably as importantly, they have the financial backing to make sure all the producers at DTZ and now at Cassidy know they're going to be around for a while."

"Following a period of intensive mutual due diligence, we are confident that this combination is an excellent cultural fit as well as an opportunity to partner with a global brand," Cassidy Turley CEO Joseph Stettinius Jr. said in a news release.

"The Consortium is very pleased that DTZ Investment Holdings affiliate has reached an agreement to acquire Cassidy Turley after closing of the DTZ transaction. Cassidy Turley is a leading real estate services business in the U.S. and will complement DTZ's existing very strong businesses in Asia and Europe as well as DTZ's existing U.S. businesses," said Ben Gray, Managing Partner, Asia.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

PointPark Pays $690M for Czech Warehouse Portfolio

PointPark Properties (P3), a European logistics specialist owned by TPG private investment group and Invanhoe Cambridge real estate company, has purchased a portfolio of logistics parks in the Czech Republic for €523 million, or $690 million. P3 bought the portfolio from VGP real estate company and its joint-venture partner Tristan Capital Partners. According to a P3 press release, the portfolio includes 58 logistics buildings with a total of 627,000 square metres of lettable space spread across the Czech Republic in strategic locations such as Plzen, Liberec, Hradec Kralove and Olomouc. The logistics parks also benefit from good transport connections to Germany, Poland and Slovakia and are occupied by a diverse range of tenants, many of whom are leading suppliers to the European automotive industry. VGP has been retained by P3 to continue providing property and facility management services to the disposed portfolio.

"This investment continues our expansion strategy as it strengthens the company´s position in the top rank of European logistics warehouse owners," said Ian Worboys, P3 CEO. "The Czech Republic is a strategic market for us because it sits at the crossroads of the main transport routes between Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The assets we acquired in this transaction are situated in prime logistics locations and are amongst the most modern facilities in Europe. Combining the acquired facilities with our existing holdings means P3 now owns one of the largest networks of logistics parks across Europe and we can offer our extensive customer base even more real estate options."

"As we have been recording an increasing demand for high-end and modern industrial properties in Germany and eastern Europe, now is an optimal time to sell and to re-invest the sales proceeds in new greenfield development projects," VGP Chief Executive Jan Van Geet said in a statement. VGP indicated that it will primarily reinvest its part of the sales proceeds in VGP's core markets located in the mid-European region and especially Germany.

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TPG Acquires ALC for $275M

Assisted Living Concepts (ALC),which operates 210 seniors living communities in 20 states, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by TPG, a private investment firm. The total purchase price is about $275 million, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Under the terms of the agreement, ALC stockholders will receive $12.00 in cash for each share of Class A common stock. Citigroup Global Markets were Assisted Living's financial advisors while Goldman Sachs & Co advised TPG.

"We are very pleased with the transaction," Mel Rhinelander, chairman of the special committee set up by ALC's board, said in a statement. "The acquisition represents a significant premium for our shareholders, and we also believe that TPG will help continue ALC's focus on high quality service and care for our residents."

ALC's occupancy rates average around 62%, compared with a national average of about 90%, according to people familiar with the company. Tripp Levy PLLC, a national law firm that specializes in mergers & acquisitions, announced this week that it has been retained to represent shareholders of Assisted Living Concepts in an investigation concerning whether the board of directors of ALC engaged in a full and fair auction for the company obtaining the highest price possible for shareholders while not obtaining personal benefits for themselves in selling to this investment firm at this price. ALC is controlled by Thornridge Holdings, a private Canadian company.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.