Cox Castle & Nicholson Completes Thomas Properties Group Restructure of Lehman Brothers Financing for 3.5 Million Square Foot Portfolio of Class A Office Properties in Austin, Texas
Cox Castle & Nicholson LLP, a leading California real estate law firm, has completed a complex debt restructure on behalf of Thomas Properties Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: TPGI) -- one of the leading owners, operators, managers and developers of institutional-quality office properties in the United States -- in joint venture with institutional investment partners. Spearheaded by Cox Castle & Nicholson’s Douglas P. Snyder, Thomas Properties Group and its investment partners owning approximately 3.5 million square feet of Class A office properties in Austin, Texas, replaced a $100 million unfunded commitment from Lehman Brothers with a $60 million priority credit facility that will allow the ownership group to operate and improve this portfolio according to its business plan. In the process, $80 million of existing debt secured by the portfolio was acquired by the ownership group and retired to reduce overall leverage of the portfolio. Pending motions brought on behalf of the ownership group in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy case were also resolved in this transaction.
According to Snyder, “This transaction is the type of recapitalization that will be necessary to preserve long-term ownership of large scale commercial properties in today’s economy. We appreciate being able to help Thomas Properties Group and its partners achieve their goals with respect to this debt restructure.” John Sischo, Executive Vice President of Thomas Properties Group, added “This restructure was extremely challenging with the financial pressures and number of parties involved, and we are grateful for the expertise and diligence that Cox Castle & Nicholson provided.”
Additional Information:
Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, a California law firm, has one of the largest concentrations of attorneys specializing in representing the real estate, construction, and financial services industries. For more than 50 years, the firm has represented public and privately held businesses, major financial institutions, pension funds, industry entrepreneurs, and public agencies in acquiring, developing, redeveloping, financing, leasing, managing and disposing of real estate assets.
Thomas Properties Group, Inc., based in Los Angeles, is a full-service real estate company that owns, acquires, develops and manages office, retail and multi-family properties throughout the United States. The company has four primary areas of focus: property operations, property acquisitions, property development and redevelopment, and investment management. The company seeks to capitalize on opportunities for above-average risk-adjusted investment returns from real estate ownership, while managing the volatility associated with the real estate industry through joint-venture ownership structures.