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February 9, 2010 |
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| May 27, 2009 |
By: Review staff |
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Carrie Levine, David Wells and Zachary Schlichter
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Dealmakers: David Wells, Carrie Levine, Zachary Schlichter and Andrew Zaron
The Deal: On behalf of the estate of the hedge fund operator Lancer Group, the Hunton & Williams lawyers collected $15.5 million in cash and stock from the sale of Zi Corp., a Calgary, Alberta-based software company, to Burlington, Mass.-based Nuance Communications. Lancer Group was one of the largest shareholders of Zi Corp., a onetime competitor of Nuance.
Details: Hunton & Williams partner Marty Steinberg is the court-appointed receiver who is working to retrieve funds on behalf of Lancer Group creditors, .
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued the Lancer Group in July 2003, alleging the company manipulated the closing prices of stocks owned by three Lancer hedge funds in an effort to overstate their value.
Michael Lauer, founder of the Lancer Group hedge funds, and four others were indicted in February 2008 on criminal charges of conspiracy and wire fraud for allegedly defrauding investors out of more than $200 million.
Last April, one of the four, Eric Hauser, pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire and securities fraud.
Steinberg said the Zi Corp. deal is part of more than $120 million in stock sales he has been able to execute for the Lancer Group estate since the SEC first filed its suit. Lancer had taken a majority position in Zi Corp. as part of its investment portfolio.
The total of the Zi Corp. transaction was $35 million, Wells said.
The $15.5 million represents the amount received by the Lancer funds from the sale, which was completed April 9. The remaining proceeds went to other shareholders.
The Lancer Group received $6.4 million in cash and 693,690 shares of Nuance stock from the transaction, Steinberg said.
A sale of the remaining Nuance stock is expected to bring the estate an additional $8.5 million, based on Nuance’s current trading price of $12.34.
Wells said the deal took eight months to complete.
Zi develops mobile search and text-input technologies. Until the sale, the company was traded on the Nasdaq and Toronto stock exchanges.
Nuance Communications (NUAN) is a publicly traded company that develops telephone call systems, automated telephone directory services, and medical transcription software.
Background: Wells is a partner and Levine is an associate in the business practice group of Hunton & Williams’ Miami office. Schlichter is an associate in the firm’s corporate practice group in Miami. Zaron is a partner in the bankruptcy, restructuring and creditors’ rights practice group in Miami.
— Alana Roberts
Photo by A.M. Holt
Broker secures renewal on downtown lease
Dealmaker: Tony Puente
The Deal: Puente signed UBS Financial Services to a five-year lease renewal valued at $7.5 million at the Bank of America Tower at International Place in downtown Miami.
UBS occupies 34,500 square feet on the building’s 24th and 25th floors. UBS has been a tenant in the 47-story, 600,000-square-foot office building since 1994.
Details: With a lease scheduled to expire later this year, UBS and Bank of America Tower owner Wealth Capital Management shared an interest in either renewing the lease or moving on. Puente had been in discussions with Colleen Newcomer, who represented UBS, since he took over leasing at the tower in March 2008.
By offering substantial tenant improvement concessions, Wealth Capital was able to prevent one of its signature tenants from relocating and keep an occupancy rate in the building above 90 percent.
Puente would not disclose specific concessions given by the landlord to UBS, citing a confidentiality agreement, but said the tenant improvement allowance was “above and beyond what a normal renewal tenant would get in a regular market. A typical tenant might get $5 per square foot. This was significantly more than that.”
UBS, which also has offices in Miami’s Brickell Avenue financial district and in Coral Gables, will pay rent in the lower end of the building’s quoted lease range of $38 to $44 per square foot, Puente said.
Beyond stabilizing the tower’s occupancy at 92 percent, renewing UBS means Wealth Capital won’t have to seek a major tenant just as three major projects are scheduled to be completed in the Brickell area. Brickell Financial Centre, Met 2 and 1450 Brickell will add about 1.8 million square feet of inventory to the office market.
“Recasting tenants now eliminates [negotiating with] tenants who have options down the road,” Puente said. “It is smart business ... if you have credit tenants you want to grow with.”
The tower will take a major hit when anchor tenant Bank of America leaves at the end of the year. The bank leases 50,000 square feet in the building. Bank of America plans to consolidate into its 80,000-square-foot offices at 701 Brickell Ave.
Background: Puente is senior vice president of South Miami-based commercial real estate company Fairchild Partners.Newcomer is president of Miami-based CBN Commercial Real Estate Services.
Three leases signed for I-595 renovation
Dealmaker: J. Brett Houston
The Deal: In a series of deals that began in January, developers of the 595 Corporate Park of Commerce in Davie have negotiated three leases totaling 37,300 square feet of office space at a value of about $3 million with construction companies and subcontractors that will revamp I-595.
At least two more leases totaling another 7,000 square feet of space are pending at a value of about $1 million. All of the leases are for five years.
Details: ACS Infrastructure Development of Madrid leased 20,000 square feet, and subcontractor Dragados USA took 13,000 square feet in the industrial park’s only office building at 10368 State Road 84.
New York-based ACS has offices in Coral Gables, but the Davie space will serve as the construction headquarters for the I-595 project.
Subcontractor Jorgensen Contract Services, which will handle traffic control, also leased 4,300 square feet in March at a value of more than $325,000. Two more leases Houston declined to identify are expected to be signed this month.
In March, Gov. Charlie Crist announced that the Florida Department of Transportation signed an agreement with I-595 Express LLC, a consortium created by ACS Infrastructure Development, to serve as the concessionaire.
The plan includes reconstructing and resurfacing I-595 and adding lanes along 10.5 miles from the I-75/Sawgrass Expressway interchange to the I-595/I-95 interchange.
The work will include reversible tolled express lanes between I-75 and State Road 7, additional lanes on I-595 and State Road 84, and express bus service along I-595. Phase I of the 595 Corporate Park of Commerce opened in November with a planned eight buildings totaling 220,000 square feet.
Background: Houston, a principal in the Rems Group, represented the landlord. The tenants were not represented by outside brokers.
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