Gem of a Restructuring

摘要

Lev leviev knows as well as any-rnone that it's the cut of a diamond - how the rough stone is shaped and polished-that determines its value. The Israeli entrepreneur is hoping that the same general principle applies in finance.rnLeviev turned a diamond-cutting empire into a global real estate business, Africa Israel Investments, only to see the value of properties acquired at the peak of the boom collapse in the financial crisis. But after months of negotiations, Leviev has agreed on a restructuring of the company's 7.5 billion-shekel ($2 billion) debt that he believes will cut its obligations and put Africa Israel in more attractive financial shape.rnLeviev borrowed heavily earlier this decade to develop or acquire everything from shopping malls in Russia to U.S. hotels and office buildings to a toll road in Israel. When he announced plans to seek a restructuring back in August, he said his "most significant mistake"rnwas his U.S. investments, led by the 2007 purchase of The New York Times'former headquarters near Manhattan's Times Square. Africa Israel paid $525 million - three times the purchase price in 2004 - and took on more than $650 million in debt as part of its plan to redevelop the property. In December the company succeeded in a restructuring of that project that reduced the debt by 60 percent and gave one of its creditors, Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge fund Five Mile Capital Partners, a 50 percent stake in the building.