Israeli Buys New York Times Building

Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev is poised to be the new owner of the building that gave Times Square it’s name. Great, just what NY needs; more condos.

From Reuters:

NEW YORK, April 30 (Reuters) – Israeli conglomerate Africa Israel Investments Ltd. (AFIL01.TA: Quote, Profile, Research said on Monday it will buy the New York Times Co. (NYT.N: Quote, Profile, Research building in midtown Manhattan for $525 million from privately held Tishman-Speyer.

A subsidiary made an initial payment of about $50 million, and would pay the remainder upon completion of the deal, the company said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

The buyer plans to get other partners involved in the deal and plans to negotiate the project’s financing with a foreign international bank. It is not certain the deal will go through, said the company.

Africa Israel Investments is controlled by billionaire Lev Leviev and has interests in real estate, energy, hotels, fashion and infrastructure.

For Tishman-Speyer, the real estate investor and developer that bought the building in 2004 for $175 million, the sale represents a three-fold return on investment. In January, Tishman sold 666 Fifth Avenue, at 53rd Street, for a record $1.8 billion.

The Times is moving to a new tower two blocks away and is expected to vacate the building by July.

The historic building, on West 43rd Street at the centre of Manhattan’s Times Square area, was built in 1913. It includes 75,000 square meters of commercial and office space.

Africa Israel plans to invest $170 million in the building’s renovation, which it expects would take about two years.

In March, the subsidiary said it would acquire a 50 percent stake in the Apthorp building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for $426 million.

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