This week, Commercial Observer took a closer look at Gibson Dunn’s growing real estate practice and its longstanding partnership with RXR, which has worked with the firm since the late 2000s. The story highlights the practice’s 30% growth over the past two years and the breadth of its work with RXR across complex transactions spanning fund work, tax and corporate M&A. Among the transactions featured is RXR’s $540 million acquisition and recapitalization of a portfolio of Class A New York City office buildings, collectively valued at more than $3.5 billion. With so many pieces coming together under a tight timeline, RXR Vice Chairman and Chief Legal Officer Jason Barnett described the transaction as one of the most complex deals he has worked on in his career.
“It involved property-level debt, property-level JVs, acquisitions of JV interest, acquisition of fee simple, corporate-level debt, securitized-level debt, preferred equity, common equity, multiple parties, institutional capital, entrepreneurial capital, international capital — all those pieces together, and under a very constrained timeline,” said Jason Barnett, Vice Chairman and Chief Legal Officer at RXR. “They brought together such resources, both in manpower and brainpower, and were able to work through nights and weekends with such dedication. It really was a once-in-a-lifetime effort — the kind of effort that builds loyalty for life. They’re trusted friends and partners who live and die in your success with you.”
