Samuel Zaretsky

Joint Ventures

• Sovereign wealth fund in connection with the formation of a $233 million programmatic joint venture with a U.S. sponsor to acquire active adult assets located throughout the U.S.
• U.S. private equity fund in connection with its joint venture for the ~$1.5 billion development of a multiphase mixed-use project.
• Sovereign wealth fund in connection with its joint venture and construction loan financing for the $400 million development of a multifamily apartment complex located in Washington, D.C.
• U.S. private equity fund with the formation of a programmatic joint venture for the acquisition and repositioning of single family rental homes located throughout the U.S.

Financings

• An affiliate of El-Ad Group in connection with obtaining $403.4 million of first mortgage and mezzanine financing to fund its $510 million take-private acquisition of Agellan Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust, a Canadian-listed REIT that owns 44 North American industrial and suburban office properties and its subsequent $434 million first mortgage and mezzanine refinancing. Kirkland also advised El-Ad Group on U.S. considerations with respect to the take-private transaction.
• U.S. private equity fund in connection with its $163.7 million first mortgage construction financing for a 42-story ground up multifamily high rise located in Jersey City, New Jersey.
• U.S. private equity fund in the placement of a $500 million revolving credit facility to be used for the acquisition and repositioning of single family rental homes throughout the U.S.
• REIT as borrower in $220 million first mortgage financing secured by four logistics centers in the U.S.
• U.S. private equity fund in the placement of a $300 million revolving credit facility to be used for the acquisition and repositioning of single family rental homes throughout the U.S.
• Financings in Qualified Opportunity Zones for U.S. private equity funds:
  
  • $120 million first mortgage construction financing for a 375-unit multi-family apartment building project with retail space located in a San Pedro, California qualified opportunity zone.
  • ~$51.4 million first mortgage construction financing for a 270-unit ground up multifamily apartment high rise with ground floor retail space located in a Nashville, Tennessee qualified opportunity zone.
  • $51 million first mortgage construction financing for a ground-up development for a multi-tenant mixed-used building consisting of a public charter school, office space and ground floor retail in a Bronx, New York qualified opportunity zone.
  • $34 million first mortgage construction financing for a 342-unit Class A multifamily apartment building located in a Travis County, Texas qualified opportunity zone.

Acquisitions

• Le Tote, an eight-year old venture-backed fashion rental subscription service, in its acquisition of Lord + Taylor from Hudson’s Bay Company.
• U.S. private equity fund in connection with its acquisition of an indirect interest in an office building located in Boca Raton, Florida with an asset value of approximately $92.5 million, together with the negotiation of loan documents for a first mortgage financing secured by the building and the negotiation of a joint venture agreement with one of the existing indirect owners of the building.

Sales

• U.S. private equity fund in connection with its $610 million sale of the 1 Hotel South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida.
• U.S. private equity fund in its sale of a portion of its interest in mixed-use multi-family properties located in California, New York and Hawaii (such properties having a combined asset value of approximately $1.87 billion).
• U.S. private equity fund in connection with its $1.14 billion sale of 26 multifamily assets located throughout the U.S.
• U.S. private equity fund in connection with its $835 million sale of 16 multifamily assets located throughout the U.S.

Restructurings

• Le Tote, Inc., Lord & Taylor LLC, and their affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Le Tote, an eight-year old venture-backed fashion rental subscription service, acquired the 193-year-old department store chain Lord + Taylor from Hudson’s Bay Company in late 2019. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the secular decline in traditional retail, significantly constrained the Company’s liquidity. The Company will use the Chapter 11 process to pursue value-maximizing transactions for both the Le Tote and Lord + Taylor businesses.
• J. C. Penney Company, Inc. in connection with its Chapter 11 filing designed to reduce its $4.9 billion of debt and optimize the go-forward operational footprint of 11 domestic distribution centers and approximately 850 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Summer Associate, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, 2016