Amerimar Enterprises Acquires 401 North Broad Street, Key Telecom Carrier Hotel in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwired - Mar 6, 2014) - Amerimar Enterprises and Abrams Capital announce the acquisition of 401 North Broad Street, a 1.3 million square foot fiber-rich building located in Philadelphia, PA. Amerimar Enterprises and Abrams Capital are partnering with telecom industry veteran Hunter Newby to own and operate the Property. Debt financing was provided by Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD). Ropes & Gray LLP, with a team led by partner Walter R. McCabe III, represented Amerimar and Abrams Capital on the acquisition.

"Over the past 30 years, 401 North Broad was strategically repositioned to become the preeminent telecom carrier hotel in the Philadelphia region under the stewardship of The Stillman Group. Amerimar looks forward to continuing with the repositioning of the property through our $70 million capital improvement program," states Jerry Marshall, Chief Executive Officer of Amerimar. "401 North Broad, with over 80 networks, is a logical addition to our portfolio of carrier hotels; and we are very excited to partner with Hunter Newby on yet another telecom property." 

"We are delighted to enter the carrier hotel business with Amerimar and Hunter Newby and look forward to working with the City of Philadelphia to revitalize this historic property," adds Travis Rhodes of Abrams Capital.

The 11-story, 1,300,000-square-foot property was originally developed in 1931. The property has since been redeveloped into the most fiber-dense, network-neutral facility between New York and Virginia. The building serves as a major hub for data and Internet traffic and provides data center infrastructure for carriers, service providers, and enterprise customers to interconnect with one another reliably and cost effectively. The building's location is of particular interest to telecom businesses, as it is a gateway to long haul fiber in the region, and offers direct access to fiber routes to Europe. The building also provides highly reliable data center operations with its robust floor loads, power and HVAC infrastructure.

"401 North Broad Street is an extraordinary carrier hotel," continues Newby. "Not only is it a major junction point for the north-south domestic fiber routes on the east coast, but it is also home to several transatlantic submarine cable systems, making it a renowned international gateway." 

"We're very proud of what we've accomplished at 401 North Broad over the years, turning a somewhat bedraggled and relatively empty, but historically significant, building into this extraordinary asset. I am truly delighted to have passed it on to Jerry Marshall and his partners and team, who collectively will, I'm sure, take this property to the next level. They are very worthy and honorable successors, and we know they will meet with the great success they deserve," states Mr. Abbott Stillman, Chairman of The Stillman Group.

About Amerimar Enterprises, Inc.:
Amerimar Enterprises, Inc. is a real estate development, investment and management firm with offices in Philadelphia and New York. Amerimar is a recognized leader in the renovation and repositioning of office, hotel, retail, multi-family, mixed-use, and telecom properties throughout the US and UK. Since 1993, Amerimar has acquired over 50 properties totaling approximately 10.7 million square feet of office/telecom, 870,000 square feet of retail, 3,200 hotel rooms and 2,600 residential units. 23 of those projects were either new development or substantial renovations. For more information on Amerimar, please visit www.amerimar.com. 

About Abrams Capital Management, L.P.:
Abrams Capital is a Boston-based investment firm founded in 1999. The firm's investment strategy is opportunist and follows a fundamental, value-oriented approach in making long-term investments across a wide spectrum of investment types, investment strategies, market cycles and industries.

About Hunter Newby:
Hunter Newby is a communications network business and real estate investor and developer with a highly-successful track record of creating value. He is recognized globally as a thought leader in the industry. Mr. Newby has held a senior role in over $600 Million of transactions, served on several Advisory Boards, is a published author, public speaker and the recipient of numerous awards including Global Telecoms Business' "Top 40 Under 40" in 2010. For more information, please visit www.hunternewby.com. 

About Starwood Property Trust
Starwood Property Trust, Inc. is focused on originating, investing in, financing and managing commercial mortgage loans and other commercial real estate debt investments, commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS"), and other commercial real estate-related debt investments. The Company through its 2013 acquisition of LNR now also operates as a special servicer in the United States and as a primary and special servicer in Europe and has expanded its product offering to include fixed rate conduit loans. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. also invests in residential mortgage-backed securities ("RMBS"), residential real estate owned and non-performing residential loans, and may invest in non-performing commercial loans, commercial properties subject to net leases and performing residential mortgage loans. The Company is externally managed and advised by SPT Management, LLC, an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, and has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes.