Judge Gives Charles Cohen 6 Weeks To Raise $135M, Or Fortress Can Sell His Assets
Real estate billionaire Charles Cohen was given 45 days to come up with $135M, or a wide swath of his 12M SF real estate portfolio will be handed over to his lender-turned-nemesis, Fortress Investment Group.
A New York state judge on Monday ordered 16 of Cohen's holding companies to be placed into receivership, appointing David Moson, Fortress' head of U.S. real estate asset management, as receiver.
The order gives Cohen ownership rights to the properties for 45 days as he tries to finalize property sales but requires him to immediately share all information on their finances, tenants, inspection reports and past monetary transfers, plus “any other information the court or receiver may request.” Crain's New York Business first reported the decision.
Cohen was ordered to pay Fortress a $187.3M personal guarantee last year after he defaulted on a $534M loan. The mogul's plan was to sell off properties to cover the debt, but his two sales to date — of 623 Fifth Ave. and 3 E. 54th St., both to Vornado Realty Trust — only generated $52M of proceeds.
In January, Cohen asked for more time to sell off other assets, saying in a court filing that he and his team were best equipped to get the highest price.
“I am motivated by self-interest to put this behind me not only for my sake, but most importantly, for the sake of my family, our employees and long-term colleagues at Cohen Brothers who have been with me for decades,” he wrote at the time. “The appointment of a receiver would be the worst possible outcome.”
Fortress argued that Cohen was dragging out the process and shielding his assets in an effort to get it to settle for a smaller payout. It also said the buildings Cohen was actively marketing, 622 Third Ave. and a Westchester County office complex, had little to no equity value and wouldn't cover the remaining debt.
This week, New York Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen sided with Fortress. He ordered Cohen to open up the books on 16 ownership entities that hold many of his prime remaining assets, including:
- 475 Park Avenue S.
- 622 Third Ave.
- 805 Third Ave.
- 3 Park Ave.
- Several Upper East Side apartments
- Multiple West Palm Beach, Florida, development sites
- The Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California
After 45 days, if Cohen hasn't progressed on his property sales, Fortress will be automatically granted the ability to seize the ownership interests of those properties and start its own sales process, the judge wrote.
The receivership order is the latest blow Fortress has dealt Cohen following his loan default. The lender triggered the largest UCC foreclosure auction in history, taking over three properties and a UK movie theater chain in the process. But those assets didn't cover a personal guarantee Cohen had agreed to in 2022 to secure the loan, the source of the now-yearslong battle for repayment.
All the while, Cohen's real estate empire has shrunk. In January, he lost his company's headquarters building, 750 Lexington Ave., in a foreclosure to U.S. Bank, which bid $1K.
A Fortress spokesperson declined to comment. Donald Harwood, Cohen's attorney, and officials with Cohen Brothers didn't respond to Bisnow's request for comment.
