The Carlyle Grp. and Crown Acquisitions buy controlling interest in retail at 666 Fifth

Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group and Stanley Chera's Crown Acquisitions recently completed the acquisition of a controlling interest in the retail portion of 666 Fifth Ave. from the building's owner, Kushner Cos., for $525 million. Located in one of the most prestigious retail corridors in the U.S., this 90,000 s/f retail property is on Fifth Ave. between 52nd and 53rd St. This property is one of a few to offer 200 ft. of uninterrupted retail frontage on Fifth Ave. "This is a landmark building in Manhattan's prime retail shopping district," said Robert Stuckey, head of Carlyle's U.S. real estate team. Prior to closing, in a transaction arranged by Crown Acquisitions, Abercrombie & Fitch leased 20,000 s/f at 666 Fifth Ave., to join existing retailers the NBA Store and Hickey Freeman. "We are pleased to bring in great partners in the Carlyle Group and Stanley Chera, and look forward to working together to create further value in this unique retail box," said Jared Kushner, president of the Kushner Cos. Carlton Advisory Services arranged the venture between Carlyle, Crown and Kushman as well as the lending syndicate, which included Barclays and SL Green. The joint venture was represented by counsel, Simpson Thacher and Bartlett LLP and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. Carlyle's investment in this property comes from Carlyle Realty Partners V (CRP V), a $3 billion opportunistic real estate investment fund that invests in office, hotel, industrial, retail, residential and senior living sectors. Carlyle Realty has offices located in Washington, DC; New York City; Denver; and Los Angeles. The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm with $82.7 billion of assets under management committed to 60 funds as of March 31, 2008. Carlyle invests in buyouts, venture & growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America focusing on aerospace & defense, automotive & transportation, consumer & retail, energy & power, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology & business services and telecommunications & media. Since 1987, the firm has invested $46.3 billion of equity in 802 transactions for a total purchase price of $216 billion. The Carlyle Group employs 950 people in 21 countries. In the aggregate, Carlyle portfolio companies have more than $109 billion in revenue and employ more than 415,000 people around the world. www.carlyle.com Crown Acquisitions Crown Acquisitions, founded by Stanley Chera, has an ownership interest in more than 15 million square feet of retail and office property throughout North America. With assets in major cities including New York, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, Boston and Miami, Crown Acquisitions is recognized for its ability to optimize value through hands-on asset management and a keen focus on improving the retail components of each property. An investor, owner, operator and developer, Crown Acquisitions' holdings include interests in more than 50 properties, such as World Trade Center towers 2, 3 and 4, Herald Center, 551 Fifth Avenue, 600 Broadway, 717 Fifth Avenue and 598 Madison Avenue in New York; 645 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, IL; and the Miami Merchant's Mart in Miami, FL. Kushner Companies Kushner Companies is a diversified private real estate organization involved in the ownership, development, redevelopment, and management of office, residential, retail, industrial and hotel properties throughout the county. Headquartered in New York City, with offices in New Jersey, its extensive real estate portfolio includes such iconic Manhattan office buildings as 666 Fifth Avenue and the Puck Building in Soho as well as the million square foot headquarters building of AT&T's Midwest Region in Chicago. In addition to owning thousands of garden apartments while investing in a wide range of properties throughout the Tri-State region, Kushner Companies is also a major owner of industrial buildings and is co-owner of the 1.5 million square foot Monmouth Mall in New Jersey.