Apartment Finance Today

UPFRONT

Hits & Misses

Corus Bank’s $4.5 Billion Loan Portfolio Sold

APARTMENT FINANCE TODAY • November/December 2009

BY John Caufield

A consortium managed by Starwood Capital Group has acquired a 40 percent stake in a limited liability company that will hold an estimated $4.5 billion in troubled construction loans and real estate-owned assets the federal government seized in September from Chicagobased Corus Bank.

The LLC is called Northwest Investment, and its investor-partners include Connecticut-based Starwood, TPG Capital Group, Perry Group, and WLR LeFrak. They are paying $554 million in cash for their equity stake, and they are borrowing more than $1.3 billion to finance the rest of their $2.77 billion bid for these assets through interest-free term notes issued and guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

The FDIC will initially retain a 60 percent stake in the LLC valued at $831.6 million. The FDIC also is providing the LLC with up to $1 billion for working capital and to cover unfunded commitments, to stave off liquidation of the portfolio’s assets, and to complete unfinished condo projects that might be converted into apartments.

There are 112 construction loans in this portfolio for 102 properties that, according to Starwood, include 79 luxury condominium buildings and 14 multifamily complexes.

More than 30 percent of the loans are for projects in South Florida, primarily Miami. The Starwood-led group was the winner among eight bidders for these loans.