The Royal Bank of Scotland and Blackstone are about to close a deal in which the bank will hand over control of £1.4 bn (EUR 1.7 bn) of distressed property loans to the US private equity group, according to a news report in the Financial Times.
The Royal Bank of Scotland and Blackstone are about to close a deal in which the bank will hand over control of £1.4 bn (EUR 1.7 bn) of distressed property loans to the US private equity group, according to a news report in the Financial Times.
The deal, codenamed Project Isobel, represents the largest such disposal of UK commercial property debt.
According to the FT, the transaction has a complex structure that will allow RBS to retain a share of future profits from the fund while avoiding upfront losses from selling the loans at a discount. The lender is providing all of the £550 mln of senior debt to the fund, after the other potential financiers - HSBC, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup - got cold feet and pulled out of the financing.
Blackstone is believed to be backed by investors including Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC, which is taking a 25% share in the operation.
