NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gramercy Property Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPT), a real estate investment trust (“Gramercy” or the “Company”), announced today, along with several of its investment partners, the closing of a €350 million venture (“Gramercy Europe”) targeting single-tenant net leased assets and sale-leaseback opportunities across Europe, and the simultaneous acquisition of ThreadGreen Europe Limited (“ThreadGreen”), an existing property investment and asset management platform.
Gramercy Europe is a joint venture among the Company and investment entities managed by EJF Capital LLC (“EJF”), Fir Tree Partners (“Fir Tree”) and Senator Investment Group LP (“Senator”), along with certain other investors (collectively, the “Founding Investors”). Gramercy Europe will invest predominantly in single-tenant industrial, office and specialty retail assets in Germany, the Netherlands, the Nordic region, the United Kingdom and other targeted European countries. The total equity capital available to Gramercy Europe is €350 million, comprised of an initial commitment of €250 million of equity from Gramercy and the Founding Investors as well as an additional capital accordion of €100 million. Gramercy has a total commitment of €50 million to the venture. Simultaneously with the closing of the venture, Lindsay Sparacino of EJF, Jarret Cohen of Fir Tree and Michael Simanovsky of Senator will join the board of directors of Gramercy Europe, together with certain representatives appointed by Gramercy, including Gordon F. DuGan.
Simultaneous with the closing of Gramercy Europe, the Company is purchasing all of the assets of ThreadGreen Europe Limited who will provide the day-to-day management of the investment vehicle. With the ThreadGreen purchase, Gramercy has a fully-integrated presence in Europe, including investment personnel, asset management capability as well as all support functions in those areas. Principals of the Company and ThreadGreen worked together for a number of years at W. P. Carey & Co., where Alistair Calvert, Managing Director of ThreadGreen, along with Michael Heal, Director of ThreadGreen, ran the London office of W. P. Carey from December 2004 to June 2006. ThreadGreen currently manages approximately €210 million in single-tenant industrial and office assets located in Germany, Finland and Switzerland. Gramercy’s management along with the ThreadGreen principals have overseen investments in excess of $3 billion of single-tenant properties in Europe over a greater than 10-year period.
Gordon F. DuGan, Chief Executive Officer of Gramercy Property Trust, stated, “We are very excited about the opportunity to buy single-tenant assets with long, inflation-indexed leases throughout Europe at high current yields. We believe this new investment vehicle gives Gramercy shareholders access to European net leased assets in scale and in partnership with deep-pocketed and sophisticated partners. Gramercy will have a fully-integrated team on the ground that we have worked with in the past and a strategy that I have many years of experience with. We hope to replicate the success we have had with Gramercy Property Trust with our effort on Gramercy Europe.”
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as the Company’s financial advisor in connection with the transaction. Additional information is available on the Company’s website www.gptreit.com/europe.
About Gramercy Property Trust Inc.
Gramercy Property Trust Inc. is a fully-integrated, self-managed commercial real estate investment company focused on acquiring and managing income-producing industrial and office properties net leased to high quality tenants in major markets throughout the United States. The Company also operates a commercial real estate asset and property management business for third parties.
To review the Company’s latest news releases and other corporate documents, please visit the Company's website at www.gptreit.com or contact Investor Relations at 212-297-1000.
About EJF Capital LLC
EJF is an SEC-registered, independent, employee-owned investment manager headquartered outside of Washington DC with total firm assets under management of more than $6.0 billion, managed across a diverse group of alternatives strategies.
About Fir Tree Partners
Fir Tree was founded in 1994 and is a New York-based private investment firm that invests worldwide in public and private companies, real estate, and sovereign debt. Fir Tree manages assets on behalf of leading endowments, foundations, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds.
About Senator Investment Group LP
Senator Investment Group LP is a New York-based registered investment adviser founded in 2008. The firm pursues credit and equity investments in both public and private securities. Senator manages more than $8.5 billion in assets on behalf of pension funds, endowments, foundations, families and other institutional investors.
Forward-looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking information based upon the Company's current best judgment and expectations. Actual results could vary from those presented herein. The risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking information in this release include, but are not limited to, factors that are beyond the Company's control, including the factors listed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in the Company's Current Reports on Form 8-K. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further information, please refer to the Company's filings with the SEC.
