AMERICAN EXPRESS PORTFOLIO SALES/LEASEBACK

American Express Phoenix Portfolio

American Express Phoenix Portfolio $90 Million Sale/Leaseback

The American Express Phoenix Portfolio consists of two Class A office buildings totaling 513,361 square feet in Phoenix, Ariona. The portfolio is part of a larger gated office campus consisting of additional Class A buildings largely owned by global financial services giant American Express Company (Amex). REI principals led a successful US$90 million+ sales/leaseback transaction of the portfolio, which was exclusively occupied by Amex and its affiliates. The mission-critical facilities primarily house Amex card processing operations for North America and at one point processed every credit card transaction occurring on the continent.

Due to Amex’s strong credit rating, the sales/leaseback transaction was structured using a so-called bondable lease. REI principals used this lease to create an innovative arbitrage opportunity designed to take advantage of the yield differential between the sales/leaseback real estate and Amex’s publicly traded debt. As a result, additional value was created in a manner that demonstrates REI’s unique expertise.