A Middle Eastern bidder has made an astonishing $2.1 billion offer for the Empire State Building. According to the Daily News the identity of the would-be-buyer remains a mystery, but the unnamed group is said to be serious and prepared to enter a bidding war to acquire the iconic building.
The offer follows an earlier bid of £2 billion from a part-owner of the Woolworth Building as the current majority owner, Malkin Holdings, prepares to include the Art Deco tower in an Initial Public Offering (IPO). A number of smaller investors attempted to block this move but lost a vote on the issue after they were told by Malkin to either accept the IPO or surrender their shares.
The opposing investors want Malkin to consider their offers for the property very seriously and hope that they will prefer to sell the Empire State Building rather than proceeding with the IPO.
“We don’t know what the stock will trade at – but cash is cash,” said the lawyer representing the Woolworth Building part owner Rubin Schron.
In an attempt to tempt Malkin they are backing-up their bid with the offer of a $50 million non-refundable deposit.
“That means we’re for real,” the lawyer said.
Meanwhile a representative of the Middle Eastern bidder would only confirm that the group is not Israeli and that they already have real estate assets in New York.
“These people want this asset badly. If they want something, they’ll get it,” he said.
A spokesman for Malkin said that they consider all issues, “including unsolicited offers,” and that they will make a judgement on what action is appropriate in line with their duties.
The Empire State Building was the world’s tallest skyscraper from 1931 until the completion of the World Trade Center in 1972. Following the 9/11 attacks it was briefly the tallest building in New York once again. It was recently valued at $2.53 billion.
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