IStar Seeks to Refinance $1.82 Billion Loan at Lower Rate

IStar Financial Inc. (SFI), a commercial real-estate lender, is seeking to refinance a $1.82 billion loan at a more favorable rate.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is arranging the transaction along with Barclays Plc and Bank of America Corp., the company said today in a statement distributed by PR Newswire. Lenders will receive a prepayment fee of 1 percent of the outstanding loan, which is $1.71 billion, the New York-based company said.

The existing debt expires in October 2017 and began paying interest at 4.5 percentage points more than the London interbank offered rate with a 1.25 percent minimum on the lending benchmark when it was obtained last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The loan rose to 101.3 cents on the dollar today, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg.

IStar was founded in 1993 as part of Starwood Capital Group, Barry Sternlicht’s private-equity firm that specializes in real-estate investments, and it went public in 1998. It provides financing to real estate owners as well as net-lease financing and equity. The company’s two main lines of business are lending and corporate-tenant leasing.

To contact the reporter on this story: Krista Giovacco in New York at kgiovacco1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Faris Khan at fkhan33@bloomberg.net