Carlyle leads race to buy White Tower CMBS assets

Source: Reuters

LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - Private equity house Carlyle Group is the frontrunner to buy about 700 million pounds ($1.03 billion) worth of London offices linked to the failed White Tower commercial mortgage-backed securitisation (CMBS), a source close to the discussions told Reuters.

Carlyle is in advanced talks to buy the Thames Portfolio that comprises five of the assets supporting the 1.15 billion pounds White Tower 2006-3 CMBS, which defaulted in July 2009 after a sharp correction in UK commercial property prices.

The steep market downturn, triggered by a collapse in global credit markets, slashed the value of the property portfolio backing the CMBS to 929 million pounds at end-June 2009, almost half their worth when the bonds were first structured and sold.

Carlyle has offered to buy the Thames Portfolio for about 440 million pounds, the source said, about 26 million pounds under the asking price set by brokers Knight Frank and CB Richard Ellis.


Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLEE6H400120100604?feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FUKBankingFinancial+%28News+%2F+UK+%2F+Financial+Services+and+Real+Es

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Must be in the "City of London"

The Bush and Clinton families are going to get richer...

Carlyle Group is the Bush Family Holding Company. I hope the Brits try to block this deal as a show of disgust for the havoc we are all still forced to live with due to the Cheney/Halliburton/Bush Administration crimes.

But I want burgers!