Just two weeks ago, Avi Philipson told All Year Holdings it wanted out of its deal to buy All Year’s sprawling Brooklyn real estate portfolio.
Now Philipson and his investor group are back in, but at a reduced price.
Philipson’s Paragraph Partners and All Year have settled their dispute and Philipson is set to acquire the 100-plus assets — mostly walk-ups in northern Brooklyn — next year. Philipson’s group will pay $43.5 million in cash for the portfolio, down from the $60 million it agreed upon earlier this year.
The deal is a major relief to All Year Holdings. The company, formerly led by Yoel Goldman, filed for bankruptcy last year amid threats of lawsuits and foreclosures and has been looking to sell assets to pay back Israeli bondholders and other creditors.
The pending sale also comes as a tough financing market has lenders pulling back.
Avi Philipson, the son of controversial health care magnate Bent Philipson, struck a deal with All Year in March to acquire the distress portfolio for $40 million in cash and $20 million in promissory notes. Rubin Schron’s Cammeby’s International Group, one of New York’s largest landlords, was part of Philipson’s investor group. As part of the deal, the buyers agreed to assume all of All Year’s unsecured claims.
Philipson’s group also reached a separate deal to acquire All Year’s stake in the posh William Vale hotel in Williamsburg, but it fell through. All Year and Philipson ultimately reached a settlement.
But over the past few weeks All Year and Philipson’s group had disagreements over the sale of the 100-plus asset portfolio. All Year claimed that Philipson’s group failed to extend the closing deadline, while Philipson’s group said All Year was withholding funds.
Philipson’s group also claimed that All Year Management, a property manager led by Goldman that previously handled all of All Year Holdings’ buildings, was under investigation by the New York attorney general for transferring tenant deposits into other entities.
All Year Holdings said the investigation involved All Year Management, not All Year Holdings, and that it was disclosed to Philipson’s Paragraph Partners.
All Year and Philipson’s group were able to negotiate a new deal, however. Under its terms, Paragraph Partners will provide an additional $4.5 million deposit. All Year and Paragraph Partners also agreed that $5.25 million from the sale of a Williamsburg property will be used to fund All Year’s operations during the bankruptcy proceedings.
The closing date for the deal was extended to March 2023.
Neither All Year Holdings nor Philipson returned a request for comment.