Weathering Financial Woes, Dankner Sells Barneys in Chicago

Nochi Dankner’s Property and Building Ltd.—a unit of IDB Holding Corp. Ltd.—has sold the Barneys New York building in Chicago for $154 million, giving the company a return of 89 percent on its initial investment in the property in 2011, according to a report in Jewish Business News.

Property and Building bought the relevant property in 2011 for $122 million. According to Jewish Business News, it made a “cash flow” of $68.5 million on the sale, a surplus cash flow of $10.7 million over the past two years while in ownership of the property, and a cumulative gross profit of $8 million. This amounts to an 89 percent return on the investment over two years, according to the report’s calculations.

The sale is due to be closed in 60 days, according to the report.

When it bought the property in 2011, IDB did so with $42 million in equity and $80 million in a long-term loan, Jewish Business News further reported.

The relevant Barneys is located in Chicago’s business district, the report added.

Property and Building will not report the transaction as either a profit or loss, since the sale price reflects the value of the property in their eyes, according to a report from Globes.

The transaction comes at a time when bondholders of IDB bank are looking to remove Nochi Dankner from his position as chairman of the bank, according to a recent report from Reuters.

Slow economic growth and increased competition led IDB’s companies to take a financial hit as of late, the report added.

Dankner has been involved with IDB’s Development and Holding Corporations for the last fifteen years, according to BusinessWeek, during which he inherited his family’s table salt and real estate fortunes and, notably, its stakes in Israeli supermarket chain Shufersal Ltd. And Cellcom Israel Ltd.—the latter being the largest mobile operator in Israel, according to the aforementioned report.

IDB Holding is currently in debt of $557 million, which have led to debt-settlement talks between Dankner and bondholders, BusinessWeek further reported. Dankner has made a debt-restructuring offer to bondholders to prevent them from relieving him of his position, Reuters reported.

Apart from attempting to negotiate with bondholders, Dankner has also sought debt forgiveness from banks and the financial assistance of Argentine billionaire Eduardo Elsztain, according to the Jerusalem Post.