The Deal Sheet

BUSINESS

American Realty Capital Properties signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire the outstanding shares of CapLease for $2.2B, which would make it the third largest net-lease REIT based on equity market cap. Both boards approved it unanimously. CapLease can seek alternative proposals until July 7 and would face a $15M termination fee. Following a vote among CapLease stockholders, the deal is expected to close in Q3, at which point ARCP will assume $580M of CapLease's $1.2B in debt and repay the rest. ARCP would gain 70 properties and CapLease's execs.

LEASING

Wakefern Food Corp leased 67k SF from Tucker Development Corp to anchor Newark's Springfield Avenue Marketplace with a new ShopRite. The 11-acre site (vacant for 20 years) also will include 150 apartments, and the project will break ground this fall.

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Bloomberg leased a 132k SF build-to-suit data center in Orangetown being developed by Russo Development and Sentinel Data Centers. The Rockland County Industrial Development Agency has approved a partial tax abatement, and the lease is conditional upon the county exec's authorization. The property will come online in mid-2014. Russo's Michael Pembroke repped the owners.

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Yahoo! has leased space at Blackstone Group's 229 W 43rd St, the old New York Times Building, to consolidate all 500 NY employees. It also includes expansion room for 200 more.

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Crain Communications--repped by CBRE 's Mary Ann Tighe, David Hollander, Ken Meyerson, Paul Stimpfle, and Brendan Herlihy--inked a 15-year, 59k SF lease at 685 Third Ave and will relocate at the end of 2013. CBRE's Robert Alexander, Howard Fiddle, and Zachary Freeman repped the landlord, TIAA-CREF.

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Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates arranged in a long-term triple-net lease of Nathan and Solmi Accad's 90k SF multi-story loft at 255 Butler St between Nevins and Bond streets in Gowanus. The buyer, 255 Butler Street Associates LLC, is controlled by Sam Boymelgreen, who plans a multimillion-dollar redevelopment.

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Summit Business Media will relocate in July from 475 Park Ave S to 17k SF in 469 Seventh Ave (at 36th Street) under an eight-year lease. Colliers' Eric Meyer and Martin Meyer repped the owners, and Cushman & Wakefield's Alan Wildes repped the tenant.

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Rocco's Tacos signed a 15-year lease for 15k SF at Muss Development's 339 Adams St in Brooklyn. This is the first NY location (it has five in Florida) and will open by the end of the year. Muss' Ross Spitalnick and RKF's Ariel Schuster and Brian Segal repped Muss. The Shopping Center Group repped Rocco's.

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Aerotek leased 14k SF in RFR Realty's 757 Third Ave, and TEKsystems took 15k, each for 10 years. Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti owns both tenants, which were repped by Cassidy Turleys Jamie Smith, Michael Norris, and Jonathan Schindler. RFR's Steve Morrows and JLL's Mitch Konsker and Alexander Chudnoff worked on the landlord side.

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The American Institute of Chemical Engineers arranged a 17k SF, long-term lease at Silverstein Properties' 120 Wall St and will relocate from 3 Park Ave. Colliers' Leon Manoff and Robert Kennedy repped the tenant. Roger Silverstein and Joseph Artusa repped the landlord internally. 120 Wall St is an Association Center, meaning it offers state incentives to nonprofits.

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FLSV Fund Administration Services is expanding from 3,800 SF to 14k in W&H Properties' 1359 Broadway. Newmark Grubb Knight Frank's Robert Silver and Anthony Sciacca repped the tenant, and their colleagues William Cohen, Ryan Kass, Neil Rubin, and Andrew Weisz repped the landlord.

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HelmsleySpear's Gregg Slotnick repped International Safety Group in a 10k SF, four-year sublease at 708 Third Ave and Paulson Investment Co in a 5,500 SF lease at 40 Wall St (co-brokered by Magee Realty Corp).

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Lingerie company Journelle, repped by Winoker Realty's Howard Epstein, leased 7,500 SF at 159 W 25th St for 10 years and will take occupancy Aug. 1. His colleague Corey Abdo repped investment bank Rodman & Co in a 7,500 SF sublease at 570 Lex through April 2016. CBRE repped the sublandlord, Volvo.

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Law firm Edward H. Burnbaum, repped by Cushman & Wakefield's Steven Blair Strati and David Berke, leased 7,300 SF at 675 Third Ave, at the northeast corner of 42nd Street, and will relocate from 300 E 42nd St. The Durst Org's Brandl Frey repped the landlord internally.

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LH Financial, repped by Studley's Lance Leighton and Evan Margolin inked a 10-year, 6,600 SF lease at Boston Properties' 510 Madison Ave at 53rd Street and will relocate from a co-op at 150 Central Park S this summer. Boston Properties' Adam Frazier and Daniel Birney and CBRE repped the landlord.

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Adams & Co's David Levy arranged a seven-year, 6,000 SF renewal for Horizon Imports at 10 W 33rd St. Jeffrey Schwartz joined him to rep the landlord of 1071 Ave of the Americas in a 5,300 SF, four-year renewal to David Geller Associates. Newmark Grubb Night Frank repped the tenant. Their colleague James Busilik negotiated a 10-year, 5,200 SF renewal for Recycling and General Industrial Union Local 108 Pensions & Welfare Funds at Kofler Associates' 121 E 24th St.

FINANCING

Prudential Mortgage Capital Co announced that it was the lender behind GID's acquisition of The Ashley and The Aldyn, which Bisnow reported last month. Prudential provided $160.4M for the 345 apartments and 150 condos on Riverside Boulevard between 62nd and 63rd.

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PCCP provided a $30M senior loan, arranged by Ackman-Ziff, to Meadow Partners to recap and convert a 98k SF, nine-story multi-tenant, 1953 office and retail building at 42-15 Crescent St in LIC into a 124-unit, 10-story, Class-A, market-rate multifamily and retail project. Meadow acquired the property for cash in an off-market December transaction. The redo will deliver in early 2015.

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Eastern Union Funding's Ira Zlotowitz and Michael Muller arranged $18.6M for the purchase of a 10-building, 306-unit multifamily portfolio in Jersey City.

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First Republic Bank loaned 5 Columbus Circle, also known as 1790 Broadway, for $55M. Hunton & Williams' Carl Schwartz and Matthew Scoville and independent attorney John ODonnell advised the owner.

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Cantor Commercial Real Estate loaned $8.2M for 10 years to Jeffrey Siegel and an ML7 affiliate for the 17k SF 5-13 Witherspoon St retail, office, and apartment building in Princeton. Cushman & Wakefield's Gideon Gil, Alexander Hernandez, and Sridhar Vankayala advised the borrower.

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Madison Realty Capital loaned $13M ($9M now and $4M for construction financing) for the acquisition of a note ($17M balance) from the Community Preservation Corp and secured by 143 Classon Ave (37k SF, 17 condos, almost finished) and 159 Classon Ave (35k SF and 20 units, more work for certificate of occupancy) in Clinton Hill. MRC also closed a $29M first mortgage collateralized by two industrial properties (171k SF) off the Queens Midtown Expressway and a 28k SF retail and office building in Lower Manhattan that could be redeveloped.

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GCP Capital Group's Paul Greenbaum negotiated $13.8M for a six-story building with 89 units on West 45th St and $5.2M for two six-story elevator apartment buildings totaling 79 units in the Bronx. His colleague Michael Charnowitz arranged $7.7M for a 58k SF shopping center in New Jersey, and Adam Brostovski lined up $7M for a 70-unit, eight-story apartment building on St. Marks Ave in Brooklyn.

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Hybrid Capital arranged $12M in permanent financing for 44 apartments and seven stores across five contiguous buildings on the UWS.

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Meridian Capital Group's Marvin Jeremias negotiated a $8.3M refi for Urban Residential Properties' 23 luxury apartments at 78 Jefferson St in Hoboken. His colleague Scott Assouline arranged a $7.5M mortgage on 85 apartments across two Fort Washington Ave buildings. Carol Shelby and Dani Sabesan negotiated two mortgages ($14.5M) for two buildings totaling 39 apartments at Carmine and West 14th streets. And Morris Diamant arranged a $6.3M loan for an 11-apartment building with 2,500 SF of retail on William Street.

Counting the days til the next three-day weekend. Email amanda.metcalf@bisnow.com.