More Pigs at the Trough

[Phil1111 1,183]

Kushners Set to Get $400 Million From Chinese Firm on Tower

A company owned by the family of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, stands to receive more than $400 million from a prominent Chinese company that is investing in the Kushners’ marquee Manhattan office tower at 666 Fifth Ave.

The planned $4-billion transaction includes terms that some real estate experts consider unusually favorable for the Kushners. It provides them with both a sizable cash payout from Anbang Insurance Group for a property that has struggled financially and an equity stake in a new partnership.

The details of the agreement, which is being circulated to attract additional investors, were shared with Bloomberg. It would make business partners of Kushner Cos. and Anbang, whose murky links to the Chinese power structure have raised national security concerns over its U.S. investments. In the process, an existing mortgage owed by the Kushners will be slashed to about a fifth of its current amount.

The deal would value the 41-story tower at $2.85 billion, the most ever for a single Manhattan building: $1.6 billion for the office section and $1.25 billion for the retail section. The new partnership will refinance $1.15 billion in existing mortgage debt.

"This is a huge, huge exit strategy for an office building," said Joshua Stein, a New York real estate lawyer. "It does sound like a home run of a transaction for Kushner and his group.”

"At the very least, this raises serious questions about the appearance of a conflict that arises from the possibility that the Kushners are getting a sweetheart deal," said Larry Noble, general counsel at the Campaign Legal Center. "A classic way you influence people is by financially helping their family."

The transaction would allow the Kushner Cos.’ investment in the tower to be salvaged by lenders and businesses that could have extensive dealings with the federal government, while also permitting the Kushners to buy back into the building’s more lucrative retail spaces and maintain a 20 percent stake.

The deal would allow Vornado Realty Trust -- which is partnered with Trump in his two most valuable properties -- to exit a troubled asset with a 10-fold payout on its stake in the building’s offices and a doubling of its investment in its stores. It declined to discuss the deal."
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-13/kushners-set-to-get-400-million-from-chinese-on-marquee-tower

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Yet donations to a charity are obvious signs of "pay for play".

[TriGirl 343]

How much does Jared get from the "company owned by" his family? The headline does read

Quote

Kushners Set to Get $400 Million From Chinese Firm on Tower

(emphasis mine), but it is really easy to skip that plural and interpret it to say Jared Kushner himself is the benefactor of that transaction.

Just because he comes from a prominent family does not mean he benefits from the deal. However, the situation should lead to a look at how his role in the administration benefits the company. Like the president saying he will have no discussions with his kids that might impact the Trump corporation, I wonder how much contact he regularly has with the family members who run the company. It does bear looking into.

See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus

Shut Up & Jump!

[SkyDekker 1,465]

TriGirl

How much does Jared get from the "company owned by" his family? The headline does read

Quote

Kushners Set to Get $400 Million From Chinese Firm on Tower

(emphasis mine), but it is really easy to skip that plural and interpret it to say Jared Kushner himself is the benefactor of that transaction.

Just because he comes from a prominent family does not mean he benefits from the deal. However, the situation should lead to a look at how his role in the administration benefits the company. Like the president saying he will have no discussions with his kids that might impact the Trump corporation, I wonder how much contact he regularly has with the family members who run the company. It does bear looking into.

Sure, it works in real life like that lol.

I am sure he wouldn't look favourably at an entity that is making his family members $100's of millions. This move is one of the oldest ones in the book.