The Firm is representing The Blackstone Group in its $39 billion acquisition of Equity Office Properties Trust, the largest U.S. office-building owner and manager. This deal marks the largest private equity buyout in history and the largest real estate deal in history as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The Firm is also representing Blackstone in connection with acquisition financing led by Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Bear Stearns. This financing is expected to be securitized in the largest commercial mortgage securitization ever.
Together with the Firm's representation of the investor group that acquired HCA Inc. earlier this month for $33 billion and KKR in its acquisition of RJR for $31 billion, the Firm has advised the purchasers in the three largest LBOs in history.
The Simpson Thacher team working on the transaction includes: Brian Stadler, Eric Swedenburg, Pierre-Luc Arsenault, Rhett Van Syoc and Jennifer Maimone-Medwick (M&A); Gregory Ressa, Sas Mehrara, Erik Quarfordt, Amy Abbazia, Ari Stavsky, Wendy Yu, Heesun Kang, Elizabeth Ferrell and Julia Noone (Real Estate); John Lobrano and Patrick Baron (Capital Markets); John Hart, Kurt Dudas and Jason Vollbracht (Tax); Greg Grogan and Wonda Joseph (Employee Benefits); and Michael Wolitzer and Leonardo Graffi (Private Funds).