By Al Barbarino

Real estate private equity firm PCCP, LLC has dished out a $65 million loan to the buyer of Midtown’s four-star Cassa Hotel.

HNA Property Holding Group, a Chinese corporation, purchased the 45-story tower at 70 West 45th Street after the developer, Waterscape Resorts LLC, fell into financial trouble last year.

PCCP’s loan is secured by the lower 24 stories and basement levels of the… Read more...

By Al Barbarino

Mack-Cali Realty Corporation’s fourth-quarter 2011 earnings per share doubled compared with the same period last year, jumping from 9 to 18 cents, according to the company’s quarterly report.

Revenues and expenses fell by 6.5 and 10.9 percent, respectively, to $179.7 and $130.3 million, with the declines due primarily to lags in construction activity.

Funds from operations rose by roughly $4 million, to $68.1 million… Read more...

BGC Partners, Inc. , the global financial services firm which acquired Newmark Knight Frank in October 2011, announced that it has agreed to acquire substantially all the assets of Grubb & Ellis Company.
Howard W. Lutnick, chairman and chief executive officer of BGC, stated, “This transaction reflects the deep and unwavering commitment of BGC — the fastest growing, and one of the world’s largest, global brokerage companies serving the financial markets — to build a premier position in real estate services.
“We agreed to acquire Grubb & Ellis because we believe Newmark Knight Frank’s and Grubb & Ellis’ broad knowledge and extensive brokerage expertise, combined with BGC’s powerful proprietary technology and our strong financial backing, will enable Grubb & Ellis to thrive and grow as part of the BGC family of companies.” Read more...