Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL) unit AFI USA Ltd. has sold the 5-16 floors in the old New York Times Building to private equity fund Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) for $160 million.
According to "Bloomberg", Africa-Israel had been seeking a buyer for the 32,000 square meters of space since July 2010.
AFI USA acting CEO Tamir Kazaz told "Bloomberg" said that Blackstone "gave us an offer that we could not refuse,” adding, “Their offer financially was better than any offers we had on the table. Also, we felt very strongly that Blackstone is capable of closing quickly."
Africa-Israel, controlled by chairman Lev Leviev, owns 50% of the old New York Times Building. The company said that it will keep ownership of the remaining remaining 22,000 square meters of retail and exhibition rental space.
Africa-Israel's share price rose 0.2% in early trading today to NIS 28.80, giving a market cap of NIS 3.02 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 1, 2011
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