Africa-Israel Investments Ltd., the real-estate holding company owned by Lev Leviev, climbed as much as 8.5 percent in Tel Aviv trading after reorganizing the debt of the former New York Times building in Manhattan.
The shares advanced to as much as NIS 52.20 and rose 2.7% to NIS 49.40 at the close.
A US unit of Africa-Israel relinquished 50% ownership of the building to Five Mile Capital Partners LLC and paid $30 million in cash to creditors in exchange for a reduction in debt on the building to $267m. plus a $75m. credit line from $652m., the company said.
Africa-Israel is struggling to pay obligations after a decline in the US and Russian property markets depressed the value of its real-estate investments. Leviev told investors in August the company needed to restructure about $2 billion of debt.
Tel Aviv District Court on Monday approved a repayment agreement with the Africa-Israel USA settled $236m. of mezzanine debt with a group made up of BlackRock, CIT Lending Services Group, Five Mile Capital and Column Financial; secured a five-year extension of the senior debt; eliminated more than $70m. in guarantees; and transformed the entire project to being off-balance-sheet, it said in a Business Wire statement.
