Fidelity Investments has replaced New York-based Goldman Sachs & Co. as the largest foreign manager of Japanese investment trusts. As of August, Goldman Sachs had $6.4 billion in Japanese assets in investment trusts, down from $14.7 billion two years ago. Fidelity, a Cincinnati-based fund manager, has increased its assets from $1.4 billion two years ago to $7.4 billion as of August.
Goldman Sachs lost its top standing largely due to a wave of redemptions of its Japanese funds. Goldman Sachs and Fidelity use different tactics to acquire Japanese assets. Goldman Sachs specializes in offering foreign bond funds through a limited number of brokers, while Fidelity has developed a larger number of distributors.
Andrew Silberfein, senior vice president and director of finance for FCRC, says the financing will ensure the market position of the two hotels, which the company considers trophy properties.Fidelity has focused intensively on Japanese equity and developed a wider pool of distributors, with more than 100 now being used.BAS worked with Financial Structures Ltd., a Bermuda-based company that specializes in structured finance transactions, to arrange the $200 million loan. Andrew Silberfein, senior vice president and director of finance for FCRC, says the financing will ensure the market position of the two hotels, which the company considers trophy properties.
American Industrial Properties (AIP), an Irving, Texas-based REIT, has agreed to sell all of its outstanding shares to Beachwood, Ohio-based Developers Diversified Realty Corp. (DDR), and to sell $347.5 million worth of its properties.
AIP will sell 31 properties to Atlanta-based Lend Lease Real Estate Investments Inc. for $292.5 million, and sell an office building to an undisclosed third party for $55 million. As part of the deal, DDR has agreed to acquire all of AIP's outstanding shares for $13.74 per share, which represents a premium of 9.9% over AIP's closing share price of $12.50 on Nov. 1.
According to Charles Wolcott, president and CEO of AIP, the deal is a product of the company's effort to maximize shareholder value. DDR owns and operates 209 shopping centers in 40 states.