TSL Express Daily News

Last year, BHI issued a $90 million capital call line facility which was utilized in part to finance the acquisition of the senior note on The New Yorker Hotel, a landmark asset on 34^th Street in Manhattan

NEW YORK, March 12, 2024 – BHI, a full-service commercial bank, announced that it has increased its capital call line facility from $90 million to $150 million to provide Yellowstone Funds (“Yellowstone”) with liquidity as the premier evergreen real estate investment platform continues to evaluate the current environment in the real estate market and assess potential opportunistic acquisitions. 

Formed as a joint venture between major international institutional investors, Yellowstone pursues real estate investment opportunities where its development, management, and operations expertise enable value creation. Yellowstone’s existing equity and debt portfolio includes, among others:

• The New Yorker Hotel: a landmark asset on 34th Street in Manhattan.
• 220 W 42nd street, a 440K sqf. Mixed-use (office/retail) with a prime location in Times Square.
• Maxwell Hotel, a 697-unit hotel building located at 541 Lexington Ave, New York.
• The Watson Hotel: a 597 key, 441K sqf. hotel on 57th Street location near Columbus Circle in NYC.

The company is helmed by CEO Issac Hera, who oversees the firm’s overall business, operations, and investment strategy. Prior to Yellowstone, Mr. Hera was CEO of Star Real Estate Ventures, an income-producing residential real estate company where he grew the firm’s real estate assets from $800 million to $1.75 billion in 3 years and set the stage for the acquisition of Star’s portfolio in 2021 by Morgan Properties and Olayan America.

“The track record of Yellowstone’s ownership and leadership to acquire, manage, and improve a premier cross-section of real estate assets is unparalleled and we are thrilled to increase our initial capital call line to this proven operator as Yellowstone continues to explore the real estate landscape for additional opportunities to create and provide value. BHI has significantly grown its capital call portfolio and capabilities in the last few years and is geared to further expand this line of business,” said Gil Karni, Chief Executive Officer, BHI.

“BHI intuitively understands how to structure nuanced financing that provides its borrowers with the freedom and flexibility to execute on the opportunity sets that the market provides,” said Isaac Hera, CEO, Yellowstone Real Estate Investments. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with BHI and capitalize on other intriguing opportunities that may develop ahead in the real estate market.”

About BHI

BHI, the U.S division of Bank Hapoalim, Israel's leading financial institution, provides commercial banking solutions to middle market clients in sectors including commercial real estate; general, domestic and Israeli C&I; private equity; food and beverage; apparel; healthcare; corporate banking; and high-tech.  In addition to its New York headquarters, the bank operates U.S. Representative Offices in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey; Miami, Florida; and Los Angeles, California. For more information, visit www.bhiusa.com.

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