Proskauer Rose represents Boston Props. in $2.8 billion acquisition of GM Building

General Motors Building

Manhattan, NY Proskauer Rose LLP, an international law firm with more than 750 lawyers worldwide, has recently represented Boston Properties in the historic closing of its $2.8 billion acquisition of the General Motors Building from affiliates of Macklowe Properties.

"This transaction marks a dramatic milestone in the continued evolution of the real estate sector toward a market where the best-managed and capitalized institutions are asserting themselves as the most stable and value-generating property owners," said Ronald Sernau, co-head of Proskauer's real estate practice. "As this progression has transpired, we have been ideally positioned to provide the sophisticated legal services necessary to get complex transactions like the deal with Boston Properties done."

Mortimer Zuckerman, chairman of Boston Properties is leading a group in acquiring the GM Building and three other properties from Macklowe for $3.95 billion. The other properties involved are: 540 Madison Ave., 125 West 55th St. and 2 Grand Central Tower.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are acting as financial advisors to Boston Properties and the investors in these transactions, and Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank are also advising Boston Properties. Proskauer Rose and Goodwin Procter LLP are rendering legal and tax advice.

According to Boston Properties, the acquisitions were completed through a joint venture among itself, U.S. Real Estate Opportunities 1, L.P., which is a partnership managed by Goldman Sachs, and Meraas Capital LLC, a Dubai-based private equity firm. Boston Properties has a 60% interest in the venture and will provide customary property management and leasing services.

Other notable transactions Proskauer's real estate group has been involved with in recent months include: representing David Lichtenstein and The Lightstone Group in their $8 billion acquisition of Extended Stay Hotels, the largest owner of mid-priced extended stay hotels in the U.S., from The Blackstone Group; representing Longwing Capital in its $1.4 billion investment in connection with GE Healthcare Financial Services' acquisition of six senior housing portfolios from Formation Capital LLC; and representing Vornado Realty Trust in its $689 million acquisition of the Manhattan Mall.

Proskauer Rose's real estate group includes more than 40 attorneys who handle complex real estate transactions worldwide for a broad spectrum of clients, such as institutional and specialty lenders, developers, private equity real estate funds, investment banks, pension funds, domestic and foreign investors, REITs, sports stadium owners and corporate owners of real estate.

Proskauer Rose, founded in 1875, is an international law firm providing a wide variety of legal services to clients worldwide from offices in Boca Raton, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Paris, São Paulo, and Washington, D.C. The firm has wide experience in all areas of practice important to businesses and individuals including corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, general commercial litigation, corporate governance matters, conducting internal corporate investigations, white collar criminal defense, private equity and fund formation, patent and intellectual property litigation and prosecution, labor and employment law, real estate transactions, bankruptcy and reorganizations, trusts and estates, and taxation. Its clients span industries including chemicals, entertainment, financial services, health care, information technology, insurance, internet, lodging and gaming, manufacturing, media and communications, pharmaceuticals, real estate investment, sports, and transportation. The firm can be found online at http://www.proskauer.com.