SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC
20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report: December 4, 1997
(Date of earliest event reported)
INSIGNIA FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
DELAWARE 0-19066 13-3591193
(State or other jurisdiction of (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) File Number) Identification
Number)
One Insignia Financial Plaza
Post Office Box 1089
Greenville, South Carolina 29602
(Address of Principal Executive Office)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (864) 239-1000
___________________________________________________
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Item 5. Other Events
On December 4, 1997, Insignia Financial Group, Inc., through a joint
venture partnership with The Witkoff Group, completed the acquisition of Fresh
Meadows, a 3,285 unit multifamily apartment complex in Queens, New York. Fresh
Meadows is one of the largest and most distinguished community developments in
New York City. The 147 acre complex contains 140 low and high rise apartment
buildings and 426,000 square feet of retail commercial space. The commercial
portion of the property was acquired by an unrelated entity.
Fresh Meadow Development, LLC, the acquiring partnership entity, is owned
35% by Insignia and 65% by the Witkoff Group, a New York real estate investment
company. The total purchase consideration was approximately $180 million with
$10 million paid from cash on hand and the remaining $170 million financed
through borrowings from Lehman Brothers. The property was purchased from the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits
(c) Exhibits
Exhibit No.
99.1 Press Release dated December 24, 1997
<PAGE>
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to the signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
INSIGNIA FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
By: /s/John K. Lines
-----------------------------------------
John K. Lines
General Counsel
Date: January 12, 1998
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steve Iaco
212-984-6535
HTTP://WWW.INSIGNIAFINANCIAL.COM
INSIGNIA FINANCIAL GROUP COMPLETES ACQUISITION
OF FRESH MEADOWS APARTMENT COMPLEX
Acquisition of 3,285 unit Queens, N.Y. Property, in Partnership with
Witkoff Group, Highlights $750 million in Investment Activity
GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, December 24, 1997 -- Insignia Financial Group,
Inc. (IFS:NYSE) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Fresh
Meadows, a 3,285 unit multifamily apartment complex in Queens, New York for $180
million. The property has been purchased by Insignia in partnership with The
Witkoff Group, a New York real estate investment company.
Fresh Meadows is the largest individual real estate asset ever acquired by
Insignia. The all cash purchase has been financed through debt provided by
Lehman Brothers on a non-recourse basis. The property has been purchased from
the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Insignia's residential management subsidiary, Insignia Residential Group,
has managed Fresh Meadows for the MacArthur Foundation for the past three years.
The acquisition by Insignia allows the company to retain the management of one
of the largest and highest profile assets in its New York area portfolio.
Fresh Meadows is one of the largest and most distinguished community
developments in New York City. The 147 acre complex contains 140 low- and
high-rise apartment buildings and 426,000 sq. ft. of retail/commercial space.
The commercial portion of Fresh Meadows has been acquired by Federal Realty
Investment Trust.
"Fresh Meadows represents an excellent opportunity for us to deploy our
capital in an investment that we expect to produce above-market returns," said
Andrew L. Farkas, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Insignia
Financial Group, Inc. "At the same time, this acquisition illustrates how our
co-investment initiative works hand-in-glove with our strategy of locking in
property management assignments on a long-term basis."
Since launching its co-investment program 18 months ago, Insignia has
acquired or facilitated the acquisition of, in aggregate, over $750 million in
real estate assets with major financial institutions, such as ING Barings,
Blackacre Capital, Lennar and CS First Boston. Insignia typically takes an
equity position of 10% to 30% in these properties and contracts to provide
management and leasing services on a long-term basis.
Collectively, Insignia's co-investment activities have boosted its
management portfolio by approximately 10,300 residential units and 5.7 million
sq. ft. of commercial space. The gross fees to Insignia expected to be generated
from these properties in 1998 are in excess of $8 million.
"Fresh Meadows is a landmark asset and we are pleased to add it to our
ownership portfolio," said Jeffrey Goldberg, Insignia's Managing Director of
Investment Banking. "We believe that, together with The Witkoff Group, we can
add significant value to this asset and help it to attain an even greater level
of success in the New York marketplace."
Insignia Financial Group, Inc. is a leading fully-integrated real estate
services company based in Greenville, South Carolina. Insignia is the largest
manager of multifamily residential properties in the United States and one of
the largest commercial property managers. Insignia commenced operations in
December 1990 and has since grown to provide services for approximately 2,600
properties, including over 290,000 residential units and 160 million sq. ft. of
commercial space located in over 500 cities in 48 states and one foreign
country.
Certain items discussed in this press release may constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act") and as such may involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance
or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future
results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the
date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or
undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking
statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations
with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on
which any such statement is based.
