Sector/Region:            Property/Asia Pacific/China

The Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) is a leading state-led development zone of China.  Formed in 1984, it’s the main free market zone in Binhai, Tianjin, China, just down the coast highway from Beijing.

Griffin Capital was retained by a private client to sell his 35% equity interest in Tianjin Yide Industrial Company Limited, a PRC company and joint venture with Tianjin TEDA International Hotels Development Company Limited, itself a company owned by the Tianjin provincial government.  The JV was formed to develop a leading hotel in Tianjin TEDA.

The process involved inspecting the site in Tianjin TEDA, working with our client’s Chinese partners and conducting market research on comparable hotel properties.  Griffin reviewed and updated proforma financial, operating and valuation scenarios, prepared project presentations and initiated discussions with representatives of Marriott International in Hong Kong.

Today, the development is realized as the Marriott Renaissance Tianjin TEDA Convention Centre Hotel.  We have successfully undertaken similar assignments for the Marriott Grand in Tbilisi, Georgia and other hotels.

Sector/Region; Property/Eurasia (Moscow, Russia)

Griffin Capital was appointed exclusive financial advisor to a private Russian fund manager to review and assess their property interests in the Central Moscow and the surrounding region. The client’s objective was to identify, develop and assess options to restructure and recapitalize their holdings.

Griffin conducted extensive due diligence which included site inspections of the client’s residential, office and hotel properties in Moscow and the region. Griffin completed a comprehensive review with the client’s counsel regarding the legal structure of the holding company and its assets, capitalization and its ultimate beneficial ownership long before KYC/AML rules became widespread.  We identified and corrected informational discrepancies which might impair the client’s future negotiating position with lenders and assisted in preparing term sheets for credit and equity transactions for the restructured holding company.

Sector/Region; Property/Americas

Griffin Capital originated its first lease securitization transactions in 1986.  Acting as the Managing General Partner of single investor limited partnerships, we structured and acquired portfolios of rated and unrated sale-leasebacks of “big box” retailers.  We undertook these acquisitions with equity LP participation from unregulated investment subsidiaries of American electric utility companies.  Leverage was obtained through a prominent Wall Street firm and with regional Savings & Loans who provided subordinated (mezzanine) debt.

Griffin bundled these leveraged leases in three tranches: 1) cash flows from monthly rental payments, 2) prospective cash flows from variable rental income realized only if gross annual sales at each store exceeded a stated nominal threshold, thus offering a hedge against inflation (CPI) which at the time was about 10% (as the lease did not provide a CPI adjustment of the stated nominal sales threshold) and 3) the long-term (15-20 year) reversionary interest in each leasehold estate.