ING Capital refinances $570 million senior mortgage loan

New York, NY ING Capital LLC, as administrative agent, has led the refinancing of a $570 million senior mortgage loan secured by 550 Madison Ave. for Olayan America, the U.S. investment arm of The Olayan Group. ING was joined in the financing for the trophy property by Bank of East Asia New York Branch, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Socie?te? Ge?ne?rale, and Natixis Real Estate Capital LLC as co-lead arrangers and co-lead Bookrunners. 

The loan is secured by a first mortgage on the property, an iconic skyscraper known most recently as the Sony Building. The 37-story building in the Plaza District of Manhattan has 852,830 s/f of rentable mixed-use space. The building features 776,000 s/f of office space, prime retail frontage on Madison Ave., and exhibition and museum space.

“The lending group has provided us with financing that gives us the time and flexibility we need to maximize the building’s value,” said Nadim Tabbara, CFO of The Olayan Group.

Olayan and asset manager Chelsfield intend to rebrand the property and create value by renovating and reconfiguring the existing space.

“ING is pleased to have earlier this year been the sole lender on the bridge loan for the acquisition of the property and, together with our co-lenders, is now further committed to financing the asset’s repositioning,” said Craig Bender, managing director and head of U.S. real estate finance at ING. “We are proud to have led this financing for one of our longstanding global clients and look forward to seeing how Olayan and Chelsfield maximize the property’s value.”

Construction of the building was completed in 1984 as the global headquarters of AT&T.  It has been sold on just two previous occasions – to Sony Corporation in 2002 and in 2013 to the Chetrit Group, the immediate past owner.