Real Estate

Real Property Transactions

• JR West Real Estate & Development Company on its $20 million investment in a 317-unit residential development in Houston, TX.

• Taisei Corporation, a Japanese construction, civil engineering and real estate development company, in acquiring:

  • a partial ownership interest in a newly formed joint venture for a 257-acre site in in Suffolk, VA, for development of more than two million square feet of warehousing and logistics facilities;

  • a partial ownership interest in a building and redevelopment project at 4750 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles;

  • a partial ownership interest in a newly formed joint venture for a 400,000 square foot mixed-use office and retail building in Washington, D.C.;

  • a partial ownership interest in a newly formed joint venture for a 558,000 square foot mixed-use Class A office, retail and residential building in Atlanta; and

  • a controlling stake in TN Investment Boston LLC, a holding company that indirectly owns 98 percent of two office buildings in downtown Boston.

• A high-net-worth estate in the fourth-largest residential real estate deal in the history of Manhattan.

Corporate Transactions with Real Estate Aspects

• Flushing Financial Corp., the holding company for Flushing Bank, in its merger with OceanFirst Financial Corp., the holding company for OceanFirst Bank.

• Develey Senf & Feinkost in the sale of its U.S. condiment production facility to Chicago-based global food ingredients manufacturer Newly Weds Foods.

• Geller & Company in the sale of its multifamily office business to Corient, one of the fastest-growing national wealth advisors in the U.S.

• Investindustrial in the acquisition by its portfolio company Nexture of Frulact, a leading global manufacturer of fruit-based specialty ingredients and flavors, from funds managed by Ardian.

• PEAC Solutions, a portfolio company of global investment firm HPS Investment Partners, a part of BlackRock, in its carve-out acquisition of the specialty financing business of ePlus, a technology solutions and services provider.

• Knorr Bremse AG in its €630 million carve-out acquisition of the North American rail signaling business of Alstom, involving complex environmental history of real properties.

• Standard Motor Products in its acquisition of Nissens Automotive, a leading EU manufacturer and distributor of aftermarket engine-cooling and air-conditioning products, which included U.S. and foreign owned and leased operations and facilities.

• JD Sports Fashion, a leading UK retailer of sports and fashion brands, in the acquisition of a U.S. sportswear retailer with 930 retail locations.

• Wipro in the sale of its hosted data center services business to IT services company Ensono for $405 million.

• Billionaire Patrick Drahi in his $3.7 billion public takeover of Sotheby’s.

• Platinum Equity in its acquisition of aerospace supply chain management company Wesco Aircraft Holdings, for $1.9 billion.

• A joint venture between real estate investor Sylvan Road Capital and credit hedge fund manager Varadero Capital in a $400 million asset-based, revolving credit facility.

• Greenbriar Equity Group and Nordco in Greenbriar's sale of the railroad maintenance equipment supplier to Wabtec Corp., a global railroad equipment manufacturer.

• Zoetis Inc. in its acquisition of Platinum Performance, a nutrition-focused animal health business.

• Seko Logistics, a third-party logistics provider, in its acquisition of freight forwarding company Air-City, including all property transfer issues.

• Mount Airy Casino Resort as borrower in a $185 million senior secured term loan refinancing.

• Cartamundi Group, a Belgian manufacturer of playing cards and board games, in its acquisition of the United States Playing Card Company, maker of brands such as Bicycle, Hoyle and Fournier.

Real Estate-Related Finance Disputes

• Representation of a real estate-backed specialty lender in dozens of loan disputes in New York and Illinois, including a $30 million wire fraud case.

• Representation of a private equity firm in litigation over its interests in a $480 million petroleum company sale, including the sale of dozens of gas station locations across the U.S.

• Representation of a Washington, D.C. trade association in litigation concerning a failed $90 million loan to acquire a corporate headquarters building.

• Representation of a leading residential real estate developer in federal criminal proceedings concerning $500 million in allegedly fraudulent loans secured from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Real Estate-Related Corporate Governance Disputes

• Representation of large minority partners in litigation and pre-litigation disputes concerning various real estate partnerships, which own a shopping mall, residential apartment complexes, office buildings, and raw land in the Washington metropolitan area valued at more than $500 million.

• Representation of a minority ownership group in a buy-sell dispute concerning the sale of a $150 million office building in Washington, D.C.

• Representation of the 50% owner of a limited liability company that owns a $50 million Washington, D.C. office building in a dispute concerning sale of property.

Real Estate Transaction Disputes

• Representation of the putative seller of an Orlando, FL, apartment complex in litigation with the buyer over a disputed purchase and sale agreement.

• Representation of a leading U.S. homebuilder in litigation concerning a $120 million real estate acquisition in the Washington metropolitan area.

• Representation of a real estate developer in litigation and various other matters over his interest in a $106 million office building and contiguous property located in the Washington metropolitan area.

• Representation of a lender in litigation challenging the $60 million sale of a Florida apartment complex as a fraudulent conveyance.

Real-Estate Construction/Management/Operation Disputes

• Representation of a New York-based real estate company concerning various disputes with a major hotel management company relating to hotels in Florida and Puerto Rico.

• Representation of the owner of a Downtown Washington hotel in AAA arbitration against a major hotel management company concerning a proposed renovation.

• Representation of the owner of three luxury hotels in Southern California in litigation against a leading hotel management company in state court in California, concerning the mismanagement of hotels.

• Representation of an Asian government in World Bank arbitration concerning the rehabilitation of the country’s principal thermal power station.

• Representation of a leading airport developer in World Bank arbitration against an Asian government concerning the construction of an international passenger terminal.

• Representation of an Asian governmental agency in D.C. District Court litigation concerning disputed oil and gas drilling rights.

• Representation of the owner of a combined-cycle power plant in Brazil in ICC arbitration proceedings and extensive pre-arbitration negotiations in a construction dispute with contractor.

• Representation of a director of a UK-based oil company regarding terrorism allegations asserted by the United Nations Monitoring Group for Somalia and Eritrea.

• Representation of leading multi-family homebuilders in arbitration proceedings concerning water and sewer construction defects.

• Representation of a hotel management company in litigation seeking damages for wrongful termination of a management agreement.