Alternative asset manager Oz Management’s Steve Orbuch has said in a Bloomberg interview his firm believes that “generally,” U.S. commercial real estate pricing peaked in the first half of 2016. He says his firm believes the markets have now moved into a stage of “pricing discovery,” which is the “onset or precursor” to the next correction. He cites a “real fall-off” in foreign investment and the fact that 2017 transaction volumes are down approximately 30% year-over-year. (Via Bloomberg)
Amazon has said it will pay $13.7B to acquire U.S. grocery chain Whole Foods Market, including its debt. Whole Foods Market will continue to operate and CEO John Mackey will remain on board. This deal is the latest Whole Foods news since reports of activist JANA Investors’ pressuring the supermarket to restructure. The transaction is expected to close in second-half 2017. (Via Reuters)
Fortress and Elliot, two New York City-based investment funds, stepped away from pursuing talks to purchase bad loans made by Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which will make it significantly harder for the Italian bank to achieve a bailout. In February, Bloomberg looked at some of the types of assets backed by these loans – once-grandiose villas and estates. (Via Reuters)
More News to Note:
10 Multifamily Markets Seeing the Biggest Occupancy Declines
Cliffs Spending $700M to Build Ohio Iron-Production Plant
Toll Brothers Talks Millennial Homebuyers and its New Dallas Ventures
Chinese Investors Allocating $200B Globally, Still Chasing U.S. Gateway Market Assets