Savanna's Billionaire Backer & Inside Mayweather's Strange Megabet

Savanna's Billionaire Backer

When one sees Savanna in a headline nowadays, the mind likely goes to 1 of 2 scenarios: distressed sale or workout. The investment firm, led by Chris Schlank and Nick Bienstock, was one of New York’s heaviest office buyers in the mid 2010s, paying top dollar for assets that are now emblematic of the sector’s woes. In recent months, they’ve been fending off foreclosures, handing properties back to lenders and seeing others go up for auction.

So it was with surprise that I read yesterday about a deal in which Savanna is the buyer: the firm paid $255M (a healthy $1,440/foot) for 799 Broadway. The sellers were PIMCO-owned Columbia Property Trust & Cannon Hill, but it was their lender, Blackstone, which directed the process. Blackstone was even offering buyers a pre-arranged financing package to get the deal over the line. But Savanna decided that it’d do the deal all-cash. I was perplexed, and started making some calls: who’d be down to back such a caper?

Turns out, it’s a guy who’s made a career out of audacious gambles. The money behind the deal, The Promote has learned, is Aristotelis “Telis” Mistakidis, the Greek copper trading kingpin. 🪙 🇬🇷 

Savanna (Cont.)

Mistakidis, whose net worth Forbes pegs at $3.2B, is bankrolling the purchase, deal insiders confirmed. A storied figure in the secretive world of metals trading, Mistakidis made his fortune while at Swiss trading firm Glencore, and was considered the world’s premier trader of copper. However, amid regulatory pressure following a DoJ probe into Glencore’s activities in the DRC, Venezuela and Nigeria, he exited the firm in ‘18 . Since then, he’s been busy buying stakes in Greek banks. It’s unclear whether he’s a repeat backer of Savanna or whether this is his first deal w/ the firm - Savanna declined to comment, as did Eastdil, which brokered the transaction.

“This is a great outcome for our investors and delivers on our strategic priority to resolve impaired assets above our carrying values,” a spox for Blackstone Mortgage Trust said in a statement to CO – since the sale happened for 4% less than the loan amt., it’s unclear if the rep is re. to a prior paydown or whether the trust had marked down the loan at some point 🤷‍♀️ The $255M price is also interesting b/c it’s higher than the $250M target being teased when the building hit the market this summer. Let’s see what Savanna, which tbf has a decent rep. as an operator, does w/ the 12-story new build property (70% leased to likes of Bain, Wellington) near Union Square.

The Promote’s perpetually fascinated w/ the behind-the-scenes backers of some of the market’s splashiest deals and sponsors, from Qatari royal HBJ (Harry Macklowe at One Wall) to Beny Steinmetz (HFZ) to Eyal Ofer (Zeckendorfs). Here’s a snapshot

Bonus: If you wish to dive into the high-octane world of commodities trading, I highly recommend Javi Blas’ The World for Sale 

Puncher’s Chance: Inside Mayweather’s Office Megabet

Fresh off a $400M megadeal to buy a Black Spruce affordable housing portfolio in Upper Manhattan, Floyd “Money” Mayweather is lacing up for an even more peculiar deal: He has bought a stake in a 18-building, 10M sf office portfolio controlled by 601W Companies (Harry Skydell, Mark Karasick). Mayweather’s purchase price is unknown, but per TRD it is his “most significant” investment yet – the boxing legend has been a longtime investor alongside SL Green, once describing its former #2 Andrew Mathias as a “great business guy.”

Mayweather’s deal gives him a piece of properties incl. the Amazon-anchored 410 10th Ave in NYC’s Hudson Yards, Chicago’s Old Post Office (pictured) & the Aon Center as well as a Jersey City office complex. A Mayweather rep told TRD that the pugilist sees “tremendous upside” in the portfolio, which is being billed as having a $10B valuation - unclear if that is current value (super unlikely) or at its peak.

Why 601W? It’s a curious choice given the megalandlord’s recent struggles, incl. a brutal reappraisal of the Aon Center and a foreclosure battle at the Civic Opera House. The (unconfirmed) chatter on the street is that Mayweather was brought the opportunity via longtime associate Jona Rechnitz, a controversial RE scion who was a central figure in an NYC govt. corruption scandal a few years ago. Rechnitz, sources said, is tight w/ 601W’s Skydell. 👀 

CA Landlords Vanquish Arch NIMBY Rival

The corks are poppin’ at the California Apartment Association: The major landlord trade group just scored a decisive victory over its perennial nemesis, the Michael Weinstein-run Aids Healthcare Foundation, which has for years opposed marquee developments and was a key force behind the battle to remove limits on rent control.

CAA’s tool to defang Weinstein was Prop 34, a ballot measure that would require certain healthcare providers to spend 98% of their revenue ($2.5B annually) from a federal prescription drug discount program on patient care. AHF had been side-questing some of those funds on NIMBY causes, suing to block projects and trying to repeal (Prop 33) the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.

“100% designed to stop Weinstein from putting Prop 33 on the ballot every 2Y,” is how one prominent area landlord described Prop 34 to me. “Kind of cynical, but he [Weinstein] is too.”

Weinstein has now conceded defeat on both Prop 33 and 34. “If billionaires spend more than $170M lying and confusing voters, they are virtually guaranteed to win,” he said in a statement. “The battle for justice for renters marches on.” ✌️ 

Adam’s Aventura Adventure

“No conflict, no interest.” - John Doerr

Adam Neumann purchased a hulking office complex in Aventura for $116M, per TASE filings spotted by SFBJ. The seller, Stonecutter Capital, had paid $140M for the property in ‘21, and filed plans to add a 495-unit, 2-tower multifamily project last year. As is standard w/ Neumann, the deal structure is interesting: he is contributing $36M, $25M of which comes via an investment he made in an Israeli firm called Canada Global (also backed by Wiz founder Assaf Rappaport) and the remaining $11M coming via Neumann’s new resi startup Flow (“It’s a feeling.”) Ladder Capital is financing the deal w/ an $80M acquisition loan. Just wanted to document the trade here for the record, as I feel like it will bear juicy fruit down the road. 🥭 

Quickies

• Is Ken Griffin the mystery figure behind a condo buyout at the center of his Citadel HQ assemblage?

• Simon Dushinsky’s Rabsky partnering w/ Chetrit on Manhattan luxe condo project (quick primer on Dushinsky here) 🎩 

• Apollo’s Marc Rowan in pole position for Treasury Sec gig 💵 

• Which means: Newmark 🪑 Howie Lutnick has to make do w/ Commerce

• Simanovsky’s Conversant Capital backs CRE capital markets shop AXCS 

• Helmsley Building appraisal comes in at $770M - a 40% 💇from ‘21

• Schmear campaign: Apollo Bagels calls BS on Lloyd Goldman eviction attempt 🥯 

•  Brookfield’s DTLA towers appraised at $159 & $135 a foot (more on DTLA’s WTFs here)

• Cushman taps new Americas leaders (after earlier axing head of Americas advisory Dan Broderick)

Unquotable Quotes