Hana Financial purchases $77 mn mezzanine loan on 30 Hudson Yards NYC

Hana Financial Investment Co. Ltd. has purchased a $77 million mezzanine loan backed by a six-story space in the 101-story, 30 Hudson Yards, the third tallest skyscraper in New York, via a fund set up by IGIS Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Previously, Bank of America Merrill Lynch had provided a mezzanine loan on the six floors and Hana Financial invested in the refinanced loan, according to financial industry sources on July 9.

A US local bank invested in senior tranche loans on the same six floors, the sources said.

This was first reported by local news outlet Edaily on July 8 and sources confirmed the report.

The six-story space, from 68th to 73rd floor, is used as office space. The contract period will last up to seven years. After five years, the contract can be extended for one year, on two occasions.

Social media platform Facebook occupies four out of the six-floor space, and a safeguard has been put in place where the loan underwriter Related Co. will automatically take over if Facebook does not extend its lease.

 

Hana Financial is expected to sell down the secured loan to Korean institutional investors including insurers and mutual savings funds. The investors' ability to conduct due diligence will be a key variable in the process given that there are physical restrictions due to Covid19.

Amid coronavirus pandemic, the brokerage firm has decided to invest in Hudson Yards' office space because the demand and performance have remained steady whereas the retail segment has not been so fortunate. Hudson Yards' mall operations have taken a hit from the Covid19 crisis, with retail tenants closing down such as high-end retailer Neiman Marcus and restaurant Peak.

Meanwhile, its office space has fared well housing global companies such as Time Warner, CNN, HBO, KKR, and Wells Fargo among others.

Hana Financial has been aggressively investing in overseas property assets. Last year in December, it acquired the hotel portion of a 44-story building in downtown Seattle for $175 million, and also purchased Germany's office complex from Blackstone for $1.1 billion in November. Earlier in February, the financial firm had launched a bridge loan worth 62 billion won for a hotel development project in New York.

30 Hudson Yards is part of the Hudson Yards renewal project which launched in 2012. Its construction was completed in 2019, standing at 101 stories tall as New York's latest landmark.

Write to Seonpyo Hong at rickey@hankyung.com