Sun International to build luxury yacht marina in the Bahamas Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Sun International Hotels Ltd. is developing a $15 million marina as part of its expansion of the Atlantis casino and resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The Marina at Atlantis will measure approximately 10 acres and accommodate 50 yachts of up to 220 feet in length.
Each slip will have its own cable television hook-up, a sewage pump facility and a single and three-phase power connection. Sun International will also dredge a 100-ft. channel from Nassau Harbor and construct an underwater tunnel for vehicular traffic. Construction of the marina is slated for completion in October 1998.
Prentiss Properties buys majority of Newport National Corp. In an $89.5 million transaction, Prentiss Properties, a Dallas-based REIT, has acquired the majority of the assets of Newport National Corp. Included in the purchase is a portfolio containing 1.4 million sq. ft. of office and industrial property in California and Arizona. Owners and key officers of NNC will continue to operate as the San Diego regional office of Prentiss Properties.
Mack-Cali receives $870 million in unsecured revolving credit Chase Securities Inc. and Fleet National Bank have arranged an $870 million unsecured revolving credit facility for Cranford, N.J.-based Mack-Cali Realty Corp. A group of 25 lenders provided a three-year term with a one-year extension option. The company simultaneously retired a $400 million credit facility. The new facility carries an interest rate equal to LIBOR plus 110 basis points, 15 points less than the previous facility.
MBIA grants $150M in credit to CharterMac subsidiary MBIA Insurance Corp. of New York has guaranteed a $150 million revolving credit facility for a subsidiary of New York-based Charter Municipal Mortgage Acceptance Co. This facility will allow CharterMac to initiate its own tender option program, with Goldman, Sachs & Co. acting as remarketing agent.
Ocwen forms subsidiary to market real estate software Ocwen Financial Corp. of West Palm Beach, Fla., has established Ocwen Technology Xchange, a wholly owned subsidiary, to distribute mortgage software through licensees. OTX plans to market its mortgage loan servicing, origination, default management and resolution technology to third parties.
Marcus & Millichap opens first Northeast office in New Jersey Palo Alto, Calif.-based Marcus & Millichap has opened an office in Fort Lee, N.J. Twenty-four brokers will occupy 5,300 sq. ft. of office space in the CNBC Building on Fletcher Avenue. The Bergen County location is the firm's first in the Northeast and its fourth on the East Coast, following offices in Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Florida.
Bradley Real Estate and Oppidan join in shopping center venture Northbrook, Ill.-based Bradley Real Estate Inc. and Oppidan Center Development LLC, an affiliate of Minneapolis-based Oppidan Inc., have formed a co-development program to build grocery-anchored retail centers in the Midwest. Bradley and Oppidan will share in the value created from the developments, with Bradley able to purchase the properties at favorable yields. The first phase of development, five properties in varying stages of construction, is worth approximately $50 million. Most of these projects should be complete by the end of 1998.
MEPC plc to sell U.S. office, industrial portfolio for $369M London-based MEPC plc, parent company of MEPC American Properties of Dallas, has contracted to sell its U.S. office and industrial portfolio to three REITs for $369 million. Included in the sale are office and industrial properties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Minneapolis, as well as an office building in Washington, D.C.
Equity Office Properties Trust of Chicago, Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Investments and Weeks Corp. of Atlanta tendered a joint bid in the negotiations. Equity will receive Colonade, MEPC's national headquarters in Dallas. Weeks Corp. will acquire the industrial properties Freeport II, III and IV in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Plaza Business Park in Irving and other Texas properties. Duke Realty will take the Minneapolis West Business Park and other business parks and undeveloped land. The three REITs agreed to jointly acquire the Walker Building in Washington, D.C.
Standard & Poor's Credit Wire reports that the growth experienced by the global collateralized bond obligation and collateralized loan obligation market in 1997 should continue through 1998. The Asia-Pacific sector should see issuance volume increasing into 1999, according to the global ratings service.
European securitization should increase as banks seek to free up capital allocated to low margin loans. Shareholder pressure and improved reporting systems have also helped drive up issuance, says S&P's.
The financial crisis in Asia has increased interest in securitization there as government officials and banks focus on the countercyclical advantages of securitization. Because of risks in the Asia-Pacific area, S&P's has expanded its rating criteria to address sovereign risk, default risk, recovery estimation and currency and interest rate hedging.