NEW YORK, May 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
NorthStar Realty Europe Corp. (NYSE: NRE) ("NorthStar Realty
Europe" or "NRE"), a REIT focused on prime office properties in
Europe, announced today that it
has completed the sale of Maastoren, the tallest office tower in
the Netherlands, to MT LuxCo,
a joint venture between FOM Real Estate, Asia
Pacific Real Estate and Coquine SA, at a significant
premium to NRE's June 30, 2017
external third party valuation[1]
issued prior to extending leases with Deloitte and AKD.
In the second half of 2017, NRE executed value enhancing lease
extensions, signing new 10 year leases with the building's primary
tenants, Deloitte and AKD, who together occupy approximately 70% of
the building. These lease extensions resulted in an increase in the
weighted average remaining contractual lease term to expiry by more
than four years.
NRE expects to release approximately €50 million of net equity
after repayment of financing (including release premium) and
transaction costs. Maastoren is NRE's largest remaining non-core
asset and the sale marks the Company's exit from the Netherlands.
Mahbod Nia, NorthStar Realty
Europe's Chief Executive Officer and President, commented: "We are
pleased to have completed the sale of Maastoren at a significant
premium to the valuation preceding the lease extensions. Our
ability to materially enhance the value of this asset prior to sale
is a reflection of our continued commitment to active asset
management as we seek to generate value for our stockholders."
Property highlights
- 44 floors and standing 165 metres high; the tallest building in
the Netherlands
- Fully let with a strong base of high quality tenants, including
Deloitte and AKD
- Completed in 2010
- Located at Rotterdam's Kop van
Zuid, Wilhelminakade 1-103
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains certain "forward looking statements"
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Forward looking statements are generally identifiable by use of
forward looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should,"
"potential," "intend," "expect," "seek," "anticipate," "estimate,"
"believe," "could," "project," "predict," "hypothetical,"
"continue," "future" or other similar words or expressions. Forward
looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are based
on certain assumptions, discuss future expectations, describe plans
and strategies, contain projections of results of operations or of
financial condition or state other forward looking information.
Such statements include, but are not limited to, the likelihood and
timing of successfully completing the transaction referred to in
this press release, and the amount of the net equity released after
repayment of financing and transaction costs. Forward looking
statements are necessarily speculative in nature, and it can be
expected that some or all of the assumptions underlying any
forward-looking statements will not materialize or will vary
significantly from actual results. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from NRE's expectations are specified
in NRE's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, and its other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Such forward looking statements
speak only as of the date of this press release. Variations of
assumptions and results may be material. NRE expressly disclaims
any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any
forward looking statements contained herein to reflect any change
in its expectations with regard thereto or change in events,
conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.
About NorthStar Realty Europe
NorthStar Realty Europe Corp. (NYSE: NRE) is a European-focused
commercial real estate company with predominantly high quality
office properties in Germany, the
United Kingdom and France, organized as a REIT and managed by an
affiliate of Colony NorthStar, Inc. (NYSE: CLNS), a leading global
real estate and investment management firm. For more information
about NorthStar Realty Europe Corp., please visit
http://www.nrecorp.com
About MT LuxCo
MT LuxCo is a joint venture between FOM Real Estate,
Asia Pacific Real Estate and Coquine SA. The platform
owns and operates core and trophy assets, it also structures and
facilitates investment in such assets for third party institutional
investors.
Endnotes
1. The external third-party valuation was prepared by Cushman
& Wakefield LLP in accordance with the current U.K. and Global
edition of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS)
Valuation - Professional Standards (the "Red Book") on the basis of
"Fair Value", which is widely recognized within Europe as the leading professional standards
for independent valuation professionals. Each property is
classified as an investment and has been valued on the basis of
Fair Value adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board.
This is the equivalent to the Red Book definition of Market Value.
The Red Book defines Market Value as the estimated amount for which
an asset or liability should exchange on the valuation date between
a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm's-length transaction
after proper marketing where the parties had each acted
knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion. The Cushman &
Wakefield LLP valuation assumes that certain properties would be
purchased through market accepted structures resulting in lower
purchaser transaction expenses (taxes, duties, and similar costs).
The mid-year Cushman & Wakefield LLP valuation as of
June 30, 2017 precedes execution of
lease extensions mentioned in this press release.
As an opinion, appraisals are not a measure of realizable value
and may not reflect the amount that would be received if the
property in question were sold. Real estate valuation is
inherently subjective due to, among other factors, the individual
nature of each property, its location, the expected future rental
revenues from that particular property and the valuation
methodology adopted. Real estate valuations are subject to a large
degree of uncertainty and are made on the basis of assumptions and
methodologies that may not prove to be accurate, particularly in
periods of volatility, low transaction flow or restricted debt
availability in the commercial or residential real estate markets.
For example, in the appraisal, a number of the properties were
valued using the special assumption that such properties would be
purchased through a tax-efficient special purpose vehicle, and is
therefore subject to lower purchaser transaction expenses. If
one or more assumptions are incorrect, the value may be materially
lower than the appraised value.
Media contact: Finsbury, Gordon
Simpson / Jenny Bahr,
+44(0)20-7251-3801
SOURCE NorthStar Realty Europe