New York, NY – May 31, 2012 – SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG), New York City’s largest commercial office landlord, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire 304 Park Avenue South, a 215,000-square-foot mixed-use office and retail building for $135 million, or $628 per square foot, from a partnership headed by David Berley, Chairman of Walter & Samuels Inc. SL Green will acquire the property with approximately 50% cash and 50% Operating Partnership units. The transaction is expected to close June 1, 2012.
The property is located on the southwest corner of Park Avenue South and 23rd Street directly across the street from SL Green’s One Madison Avenue in the Midtown South sub-district, an area that boasts steadily increasing rents and an office market vacancy of sub-6%. The property features close proximity to Madison Square Park, Union Square, Gramercy Park and the Flatiron districts, making it highly desirable for office and retail tenants alike.
The property is 95% leased to a boutique office tenancy including lead tenant IMG Models, ranked as the world’s number one model management firm. Retail tenants include H&R Block, Bath & Body Works and Time Warner Entertainment.
Andrew Mathias, President of SL Green, commented, “We’ve been monitoring Midtown South carefully looking for acquisition opportunities, however the consistently tightening vacancy rates and substantial lease activity in the area have driven cap rates on marketed deals below our target investment thresholds. This unique opportunity came to us because of the attractiveness of our Operating Partnership Units and our relationship with the seller. It’s a classic SL Green investment – off-market, potential repositioning, and creating value upon acquisition for both the Company and the seller. This is the fifth time in the past year we have used OP units in an acquisition, as sellers recognize the unique benefits of our currency.”
Walter & Samuels represented the seller.
Advisor for the transaction was Doug Harmon of Eastdil Secured.
About SL Green:
SL Green Realty Corp., New York City’s largest office landlord, is the only fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. As of March 31, 2012, SL Green owned interests in 70 Manhattan properties totaling more than 39.0 million square feet. This included ownership interests in 27.3 million square feet of commercial properties and debt and preferred equity investments secured by 11.7 million square feet of properties. In addition to its Manhattan investments, SL Green holds ownership interests in 32 suburban assets totaling 6.9 million square feet in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester County, Connecticut and New Jersey, along with four development properties in the suburbs encompassing approximately 0.5 million square feet.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions thereof. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including such matters as future capital expenditures, dividends and acquisitions (including the amount and nature thereof), development trends of the real estate industry and the Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester County, Connecticut, Long Island and New Jersey office markets, business strategies, expansion and growth of our operations and other similar matters, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially, and we caution you not to place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend,” “project,” “continue,” or the negative of these words, or other similar words or terms.
Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made by us. These risks and uncertainties include the effect of the credit crisis on general economic, business and financial conditions, and on the New York metropolitan real estate market in particular; dependence upon certain geographic markets; risks of real estate acquisitions, dispositions and developments, including the cost of construction delays and cost overruns; risks relating to structured finance investments; availability and creditworthiness of prospective tenants and borrowers; bankruptcy or insolvency of a major tenant or a significant number of smaller tenants; adverse changes in the real estate markets, including reduced demand for office space, increasing vacancy, and increasing availability of sublease space; availability of capital (debt and equity); unanticipated increases in financing and other costs, including a rise in interest rates; our ability to comply with financial covenants in our debt instruments; our ability to maintain our status as a REIT; risks of investing through joint venture structures, including the fulfillment by our partners of their financial obligations; the continuing threat of terrorist attacks, in particular in the New York metropolitan area and on our tenants; our ability to obtain adequate insurance coverage at a reasonable cost and the potential for losses in excess of our insurance coverage, including as a result of environmental contamination; and legislative, regulatory and/or safety requirements adversely affecting REITs and the real estate business, including costs of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act and other similar laws and regulations.
Other factors and risks to our business, many of which are beyond our control, are described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.
Andrew Mathias
President
-or-
Heidi Gillette
Director, Investor Relations
212-594-2700