Joseph Moinian’s New York based real estate firm the Moinian Group is looking to raise $500 million in a bond issue on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, according to a report in Globes.
If the offering goes through then Moinian will join an ever growing group of American real estate tycoons who have raise money through the issuance of bonds in Israel. Joel Weiner of Zarasai Group, Gary Barnett of Extell Development, Abraham Lesser’s Lesser Group, and David Goldberg and Boaz Gilad of Brookland are all currently playing the Israeli debt markets.
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The Witkoff Group and the Lightstone Group both recently announced plans for similar bond offerings.
American real estate firms are looking to raise money in Israel because of its low interest rates and the fact that its strong economy has left many Israeli investors with plenty of cash to loan to foreign companies. It is also easier for them to issue bonds in Israel than in the U.S. where such bonds can only be distributed by REITs.
If the trend continues, then billions of Dollars could possibly be bought with the Shekels raised in Israeli investments. This will, at least to some degree, help to devalue the Shekel which has been unusually strong against the Dollar in recent years, hurting Israeli exports.
Since the start of 2014, American real estate firms have raised 2.5 billion Shekels ($710 million) from bonds issued in Israel. But none have issued stock there, preferring to take on new debt.
Globes has reported that Moinian Group representatives recently held a series of meetings with Israeli underwriters in order to look into the possibilities for such a bond issue and to select the underwriter to lead the offering.
Founded by Joseph Moinian in 1982, The Moinian Group is among the few national real estate entities to develop, own and operate properties across every asset category, including office, hotel, retail, condos and rental apartments. It has a portfolio in excess of 20 million square feet across major cities including New York, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. Its portfolio includes 16 commercial buildings, 10 residential buildings and apartment buildings, and five hotels.
