After a lot of controversy, debate and delay on the decision to roll the iconic Empire State Building into a public real estate investment trust (REIT), Malkin Holdings LLC, the company that manages the building announced Friday that it will be proceeding with the Initial Public Offering (IPO) plan. The company rejected all bids that were offered to buy the portfolio, according to several news reports.
In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Malkins said they had "received indications of interest to purchase the fee and/or operating lease positions of the Empire State Building, as well as one indication of interest to purchase the fee and operating lease positions of One Grand Central Place," reports Reuters
The REIT will comprise of more than12 properties including the Empire State Building. Of the 12 properties, seven are located in midtown Manhattan while the others are in Westchester County, Connecticut and Fairfield County.
They decided to move ahead with the IPO after reviewing all proposals claiming that it was the best option that would work in favor of the investors' interests, reports Bloomberg.
After battling with dissident shareholders who opposed the Initial Public Offering Plan (IPO) for almost a year, the Malkins finally managed to secure the required number of votes to take the tower public and make it a part of the country's second largest IPO, which aims to raise $1 billion in stock.
Since the Malkins' victory over the opposing shareholders, continuous bids to purchase the buildings part of the portfolio have been pouring in. Many affluent developers and investors have been betting some good cash on the Empire State Building alone.
Builder Rubin Schron kick-started the bidding trend with a $2.1 billion offer in June. Other developers like Joe Sitt and Reuven Kahane and a group of investors followed suit with offers reaching up to $2.25 billion. Thor Equities reportedly offered a sum more than $2.5 billion for the building. More recently, in August it made another undisclosed full-cash offer as well.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg TV, Joseph Sitt talked about the Empire State Building and how Thor Equities would love to own the building.
Sitt said in the interview:
"We think that the Empire State Building is one of those great assets that has lost a bit of its luster. We think that its an important tourist destination and with some polishing up and some exciting plans, all of which i can't talk about, we would love to own it. As everybody knows, its in the newspapers, part of the group wants to sell and the other part doesnt, we'll see how it plays out, whatever its meant to be."
"I am hopeful that i end up with it. Even if somebody else does i hope that they execute a plan with the vision that we have," he added.
