Kushner Cos. To Sell $100M In Bonds On Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
Kushner Cos. has filed documents with the Israel Securities Authority to sell $100M in bonds on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange next year, probably as soon as the first quarter of 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Though this would be the first bond sale in Israel for Kushner Cos., the company is no stranger to raising capital in that country, from banks and equity partners alike. A bond issue can be a cheaper alternative to other kinds of CRE financing, such as borrowing from banks.
“Kushner is considering the option of issuing bonds on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange,” a company spokesman told the WSJ. “The company has had years of success working with Israeli institutions as both a borrower and a partner.”
Investors have been cool lately on U.S. CRE company bonds sold in Israel. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has spurred credit rating downgrades for U.S. real estate companies or their bonds, especially a number of New York-based companies, including All Year Management, Extell Development and Moinian Group, The Real Deal reports.
Preparing to sell bonds is a quiet end to Kushner Cos.' tumultuous year. In the early grip of the pandemic, the company defaulted on mortgage payments on the retail space in the old New York Times building in Manhattan. The retail condo's value dropped precipitously after that.
Toward the end of 2020, tenants accusing Kushner Cos. of illegally deregulating a Brooklyn building were granted class-action status to sue the Manhattan-based landlord.
Westminster Management, an affiliate of Kushner Cos., filed hundreds of eviction notices in Maryland District Court, despite the state and federal moratoriums on eviction hearings. Westminster told its residents that the action means that court fees will be added to the back rent they owe.
In December, Democrats in Congress launched an investigation into whether U.S. foreign policy shifted abruptly against the nation of Qatar after its finance minister declined to invest in the debt-saddled Kushner Cos.' 666 Fifth Avenue office building, as well as investigating what Jared Kushner's role in that shift might have been.
Charles Kushner, the father of former Kushner Cos. CEO Jared Kushner, has run the company while his son served as senior adviser to President Donald Trump. It isn't clear whether the younger Kushner will be head of Kushner Cos. again after his father-in-law's administration ends on Jan. 20.
The elder Kushner, who was convicted in 2005 of tax evasion and making illegal campaign contributions, recently received a pardon from Trump.
