Commercial real estate
* Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT II Inc. acquired a class A, 125,735 square-foot office facility in Parsippany, N.J., from Normandy Real Estate Partners and Partners Group. The property, bought for $44.0 million, is fully leased to Zoetis Inc.'s Zoetis Services LLC.
* JDS Development Group and partner Largo Investments have secured $660 million in financing, allowing the developers to retire a previous $390 million construction loan, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The funds, which will be used to repay equity provided for construction costs, will also provide financial flexibility for the under-construction American Copper Buildings at 626 First Ave. on Manhattan, N.Y.'s East Side. American International Group Inc., Apollo Global Management LLC and SL Green Realty Corp. were the lenders behind the new three-year term financing.
* Amazon.com Inc.'s 800,000-square-foot distribution center in Columbus, Ohio, was sold to an affiliate of Griffin Capital Corp. for $89 million, the Columbus Business First reported, citing Licking County property records. The sale by Prologis Inc. is central Ohio's third-largest deal for a single commercial building in at least the past few decades, the report noted, citing real estate database Xceligent.
* New York City's Department of Buildings allowed DDG to resume construction on its planned 521-foot residential project at 180 East 88th St., which will be one of the tallest towers on the Upper East Side, according to a report from The Real Deal. Work on the project came to a halt amid accusations that the developer bypassed zoning laws to build a taller building, the report noted.
DDG's initially planned a separate four-foot lot on East 88th St., but subsequently proposed a 10-foot-wide lot along the street, allowing the developer to move the building's entrance off the street and to add landscaping.
* Fortis Property Group is seeking approval from the NYC's Department of Buildings for a 110-unit apartment building at 339 Hicks Street in Brooklyn, N.Y., The Real Deal reported. According to a permit application filed, the 28-story building will span 137,351 square feet, the report noted. The plans are part of Fortis' 20-building project at the former Long Island College Hospital site in Cobble Hill.
* The city of Columbus shortlisted Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd., Pizzuti Cos. and a team of Wood Cos./Schiff Capital Group for the redevelopment of the 2.1-acre North Market site, the Columbus Business First reported.
Wood/Schiff is proposing a 35-floor residential and office building, while Pizzuti's proposal is mixed-use with a heavier office component than the other two proposals. Pizzuti's proposal would include an 18-story residential tower and a 10-story office tower, as well as a 475-space parking garage.
The winning proposal is expected to be selected in February, according to the report.
* According to Fitch Ratings, the U.S. equity REIT liquidity profiles are well positioned heading into 2017. The median liquidity coverage ratio for select U.S. equity REITs is 1.8x for the Oct. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2018, period, with the lowest coverage at 1.3x for retail and the highest coverage at 2.7x for healthcare.
After the bell
* First Capital Realty Inc. said it will redeem the entire outstanding principal amount of its 5.40% and 5.25% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures due Jan. 31, 2019, on Jan. 31, 2017.
* Global Net Lease closed its $3.1 billion acquisition of ARC Global Trust II Inc., two days after shareholders of both companies approved the deal in separate meetings.
* Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust agreed to purchase an eight-property, 99.1% occupied housing portfolio in the Netherlands for €64.9 million.
* HCP Inc. acquired 10 medical office buildings from Community Health Systems Inc. in a sale and leaseback transaction worth $163 million.
* Eldorado Resorts Inc. and Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. will each hold a special meeting Jan. 25, 2017, to vote on Eldorado's proposed acquisition of Isle of Capri.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng dropped 0.28% to 21,574.76.
In Europe as of midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.03% to 7,065.69, and the Euronext 100 had climbed 0.06% to 929.40.
On the macro front
The new home sales report, the consumer sentiment report and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count report are due out today.
Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence
Q&A: Hotel analyst mulls Airbnb, Expedia and how Hilton can be more like Pepsi: Robert W. Baird analyst David Loeb, who is leaving sell-side research after more than two decades, spoke with S&P Global Market Intelligence about the ways the lodging industry has changed, and the ways it still could.
Data Dispatch: US REITs' capital-raising activity up 9.4% YOY through Dec. 15: During the first half of December, U.S. equity REITs raised approximately $1.77 billion through capital offerings.
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