Trump announces he has taken a $1.2B loan against the Bank of America Center skyscraper he co-owns in San Francisco with real estate giant Vornado - and the refinancing gives them a $617M payout
Former President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he has taken a $1.2 billion loan against his Bank of America skyscraper in San Francisco - his most valuable asset - but does not identify the lender.
The statement was tweeted by Maggie Haberman of The New York Times and comes amid revelations of his fury that New York State Attorney General Letitia James has opened a criminal investigation into his taxes.
'A loan of $1.2 billion has closed on the asset known as the Bank of America Building (555 California Street) in San Francisco, CA. The interest rate is approximately 2%. Thank you!' Trump said in the statement.
Bloomberg reported that investors had bought the $1.2 billion of bonds in a deal that was described as 'in line with other recent office-tower deals.'
The bonds were used to refinance a previous loan on the property. It gives Trump and the Vornado Realty Trust a payout of $617 million, the outlet reported at the time.
The refinancing and payout came after multiple banks, previously used by Trump, severed ties with him in the wake of the Capitol riot.
Trump owns 30 per cent of the San Francisco building which is majority owned by Vornado. The building, among the tallest in the city, is 'the most valuable part of his portfolio' and is worth about one-third of his $2.3 billion fortune, Bloomberg reported.
Former President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he has taken a $1.2 billion loan against his Bank of America skyscraper in San Francisco
Yashar Ali, a contributor to New York Magazine, noted that the loan comes in the form of bonds - not a traditional bank loan
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Trump Organization for more information and additional comment.
The Vornado Realty Trust issued a press release on May 10 announcing that the refinancing of the three-building campus had been completed and that it has the 'sole decision-making authority.'
The loan replaces a previous $533 million loan that bore interest at a fixed rate of 5.10%, according to the company. That loan was scheduled to mature in September 2021 - when full payment was to become due.
The Bank of America building, which is minority-owned by Donald Trump, is pictured in downtown San Francisco
According to the company, the new deal has a benchmark variable interest rate used by major global banks to lend to one another plus additional interest for different years throughout the term of the loan - rather than the previous fixed rate.
However, Vornado said that - in the first three years of the loan - the company said it swapped its share to pay a fixed rate of 2.26%.
The new loan matures in May 2028 and will have a LIBOR rate plus 1.93% in the first five years. In the sixth year, the loan's interest is set at a LIBOR rate plus 2.18% - and a LIBOR rate plus 2.43% in the final year, according to the release.
Vornado said that its share of the net proceeds from the refinancing was about $454 million - meaning that the most the Trump could have seen was about $194 million, as noted by the Twitter account @southpaw.
A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in February shows that the company is currently redeveloping 555 California and 345 Montgomery Street for $66 million, Business Insider reported.
The outlet reported that, before Trump became president, he had tried to sell his stake in the Vornado properties.
Vornado later considered buying out Trump's share of the building complex when banks and businesses cut their ties to him.
Yashar Ali, a contributor to New York Magazine, noted that the loan comes in the form of bonds - not a traditional bank loan.
'This building is Trump's most valuable asset and his partner is Vornado. This will pour $612 million into the Trump Organization and Vornado, the reminder will go into building improvements,' Ali tweeted.
Trump, seen Tuesday in NYC, has been told his organization is under criminal investigation
Donald Trump tore into the criminal probe into his business dealings on Wednesday and attacked New York Attorney Letitia James for her 'witch hunt' that he claims has been going on for years.
In a lengthy statement released after James' office said they were working alongside the Manhattan district attorney in an ongoing criminal fraud investigation into the Trump Organization, the former president told prosecutors to instead focus on 'real crimes' and pointed out soaring rates of violence in New York City.
James' office has been investigating whether Trump's company falsely reported property values to secure loans and obtain economic and tax benefits.
Trump denies any wrongdoing but the escalated investigation increases chances he and possibly members of his family could face criminal charges.
'There is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime. But, make no mistake, that is exactly what is happening here,' he wrote.
'The Attorney General of New York literally campaigned on prosecuting Donald Trump even before she knew anything about me.
'She said that if elected, she would use her office to look into "every aspect" of my real estate dealings. She swore that she would "definitely sue" me. She boasted on video that she would be, and I quote, "a real pain in the a**."
Trump unleashed his fury at the prosecutor.
'She declared, "just wait until I'm in the Attorney General's office," and, "I've got my eyes on Trump Tower.' She also promised that, if elected, she would "join with law enforcement and other Attorney Generals across this nation in removing this President from office," and, "It's important that everyone understand that the days of Donald Trump are coming to an end.'
'The Attorney General made each of these statements, not after having had an opportunity to actually look at the facts, but BEFORE she was even elected, BEFORE she had seen even a shred of evidence. This is something that happens in failed third world countries, not the United States.'
The former president and his son Don Jr, with Allen Weisselberg behind them, at a press conference in January 2017. The New York A-G has also launched a criminal probe into Weisselberg, the CFO of the Trump Org
Donald Trump, wife Melania, with the Barry and Jennifer Weisselberg, the son and daughter n law of Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg. Jennifer has been assisting the criminal probe into the Trump Org for months
The New York State Attorney General's office has also opened a criminal investigation into a key lieutenant of Donald Trump, according to reports.
Allen Weisselberg, the longtime CFO of the Trump Organization, is under investigation in a tax criminal probe by the state attorney-general's office, sources told CNN.
Last week, it was revealed prosecutors in New York were trying to get Weisselberg to flip by investigating whether they had evaded tax by paying his grandkids' private school fees'.
Sources said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.'s office subpoenaed Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School over more than $500,000 in tuition fees.
The fees were allegedly paid by Trump and Weisselberg for Weisselberg's grandchildren who attended the $50,000 a term school in the Upper West Side.
Prosecutors are thought to be looking into the tuition fee payments, made between 2012 and 2019, to determine if tax laws were broken.
Jennifer Weisselberg, who was married to Allen's son Barry from 2004 to 2018 and is mom of the two children at the school, has already turned witness.
Prosecutors could use any allegations of wrongdoing against Allen Weisselberg to try and get him to turn on Trump, in exchange for leniency.
It was not immediately clear if the San Francisco property will become a target for investigators in New York.
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