(Bloomberg) -- Fontainebleau Miami Beach, a luxury hotel founded in the 1950s, plans to sell a $975 million commercial mortgage-backed security to refinance its debt.
It seeks to raise around $1.2 billion in debt financing, including the CMBS and a mezzanine loan of as much as $225 million, according to deal documents.
Jeffrey Soffer, the indirect majority owner of the hotel, is expected to contribute about $105 million, bringing the total money raised to about $1.3 billion. The proceeds will be used to refinance $1.18 billion of prior debt — including both a CMBS and mezzanine debt — and to repay a $75 million construction loan for new convention center facilities at the hotel. The money will also cover closing costs of about $40 million, according to deal documents.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are leading the proposed bond sale.
Goldman Sachs and Fontainebleau Development, which is led by Soffer, declined to comment. A representative for JPMorgan didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fontainebleau’s refinancing deal adds to the rush of CMBS transactions this year. Around $106 billion of private label CMBS deals have been sold so far this year — compared to $42 billion over the same period last year — as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates.
Just two months ago, NYC’s Rockefeller Center borrowed $3.4 billion through this market, the biggest CMBS deal in three years, underscoring a trend where trophy properties are having more success in finding financing than their lower-tier counterparts.
Still, signs of trouble linger among commercial mortgage-backed bonds. Buyers of some top-rated credits have suffered losses for the first time since the Great Financial Crisis, as appraisals sit far below debt balances on some properties.
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