Tom Barrack, who stepped down as CEO of Colony Capital in 2014, is back at the helm after the company’s stock has plummeted.
Richard Saltzman (Credit: Colony Capital)
Richard Saltzman was ousted from the position and has given up his board seat, Bloomberg reported. Saltzman oversaw Colony’s merger with NorthStar.
The company’s shares have tumbled 58 percent since President Trump’s inauguration — as it’s become evident that Colony overvalued NorthStar’s assets, the report said.
“I completely respect and embrace Tom’s interest in returning to the CEO role as the founder and driving force behind the company for decades,” Saltzman said in a statement. “I remain a substantial shareholder, and he has my full support.”
Barrack’s return to the $44 billion investment firm comes after his close relationship with Trump drew attention. During the 2016 campaign, he frequently appeared on television and was a prominent Trump ally.
Last year, Barrack sold his Santa Monica home for $34 million in an off-market deal. He purchased the site through a corporate entity in 2014 for $21 million.
News of the leadership change comes as Colony report its third-quarter earnings. The firm’s net loss attributable to common stockholders was $70 million, or 15 cents a share. Adjusted funds from operations, a measure of cash flow used by real estate investors, totaled $102.2 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with an 18-cent average estimate from two analysts, the report said. [Bloomberg] — Meenal Vamburkar