Breana C. Vessichio

Rep Matters: Firm Provides Counsel in 140 million Complex Real Estate Refinancing and Joint Venture Deal; Jim Maher and Jaimee Newman (with the invaluable assistance of Matt Teich, Breana Vessichio and Olivia Albanese) recently closed on a complex refinance and joint venture transaction involving a nearly 140 million real estate portfolio containing 27 commercial and residential properties in and around Boston, Massachusetts. The transaction arose in response to efforts by the Seller, who has owned the portfolio for nearly 100 years, to monetize their real estate holdings. To do so, they elected to sell a 50% interest in the portfolio to a prominent Boston real estate development company, who will renovate the properties and then release or resell for the benefit of both parties. Halloran Sage represented a large regional bank in providing nearly 86 million in financing to accomplish the acquisition and future renovations, which was divided into two deals, one financing the 22-property Residential portfolio and one financing the 5-property Commercial portfolio. To further complicate matters, the transaction had to close over a 2-day period to assure the Seller's desired tax treatment, with day 1 being structured as a straight refinance of the portfolio, and day 2 being the closing of the joint venture and assumption of loan obligations by the Buyer. At closing, our client advanced approximately 64 million, with the intention to hold the entirety of both loans for its own account. We closed this deal in approximately 3 months, and were up against the resources of 3 major international firms, as well as Seller and Buyer's in-house counsel. This was a high profile transaction and highly scrutinized within the bank.