Iris Dorbian
National Pension Service of Korea and the Hines Interest LP, a real estate investment firm, have acquired stakes in One Vanderbilt Avenue, a building project located near New York City's Grand Central Terminal. The total amount of the transaction was for $525 million. The seller was SL Green Realty Corp. According to terms of the deal, NPS acquired a 27.6 percent stake in One Vanderbilt while Hines acquired a 1.4 percent stake. Construction is expected to be completed in 2020.
First Read kicks off the day with news that Kraft Heinz and Oprah Winfrey have launched a joint venture to develop food products, Google has banned 200 publishers in an effort to prevent fake news, and Hugo Barra is joining Facebook to lead its VR efforts.
Spire Capital Partners has sold Carmel, Indiana-based Performance Assessment Network, a provider of talent management software and solutions, to PSI Services LLC, which is backed by Waud Capital Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. Houlihan Lokey provided financial advice to Spire Capital and PAN on the transaction.
Thomas H. Lee Partners has agreed to acquire Warren, Michigan-based Art Van Furniture, a furniture retailer. No financial terms were disclosed. RBC Capital Markets served as financial adviser to Art Van Furniture on the transaction while Goldman Sachs did likewise for THL.
Second Opinion closes out the day with news that the Dow has finally surpassed 20,000, Harvard will outsource the management of its $35.7 billion endowment while laying off half its staff and TV icon Mary Tyler Moore dies at 80.
Blackstone's secondaries platform, Strategic Partners Fund Solutions, has closed its seventh private equity fund at a hard cap of $7.5 billion.
Incredible Foods, a maker of allergen-friendly food products, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding. The investors included Winona Capital, Polaris Partners and Flagship Pioneering. In addition to this transaction, Jason Sowers, a partner at Winona Capital, has been added to Incredible Foods' board of directors.
Robert W. Baird & Co's investment arm Baird Capital has appointed Andy Tse as a partner. In his new role, Tse will help lead investments in Asia. Previously, Tse worked at AIF Capital where he served as a managing director.
Global alternative asset manager TPG has named Bradford Berenson as general counsel. Currently, Berenson is the vice president and senior counsel for litigation and legal policy for General Electric.
India-based RML AgTech, a provider of smart farming solutions, has secured $4 million. The investor was IvyCap Ventures.