Tom Barrack’s Colony Sells RXR Realty Stake to Dyal

Gillian Tan (Bloomberg) -- Colony Capital Inc. has sold its stake in New York real estate firm RXR Realty to Neuberger Bergman’s Dyal Capital Partners, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The transaction has closed, said the people, who requested anonymity because it hasn’t been made public. Representatives for Dyal, Colony and RXR declined to comment.

Colony valued its 27.2% stake in RXR at $100.4 million as of March 31, according to filings. It inherited the position through its purchase of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp., which in 2013 invested $337 million in exchange for corporate debt, preferred equity and a roughly 30% ownership interest in RXR. The price Dyal paid couldn’t immediately be learned, but Colony made a profit from the sale, one of the people said.

The move comes as Colony’s chief executive officer and chairman, Thomas Barrack, faces a call from activist investor Blackwells Capital to step down. Barrack, a long-time ally of President Donald Trump, has said he’ll hand over the CEO role in 2021 to Marc Ganzi, the co-founder of investment firm Digital Bridge, which Colony acquired last year.

Colony has been reshaping its business as it pivots toward digital real estate assets such as data centers. Last year, it sold its U.S. warehouse business to European affiliate Northstar Realty Europe Corp. and sought to internalize the management of an affiliated credit real estate investment trust.

Related:Colony Capital’s CEO-Elect Marc Ganzi Explains Its Pivot to Digital

RXR, led by chairman and CEO Scott Rechler, was founded in 2007 and has raised $8.1 billion in equity since inception, according to its website. The firm manages 25.5 million square feet across 75 properties, including Manhattan’s 75 Rockefeller Plaza and the Helmsley Building at 230 Park Ave. RXR is also part of a consortium that has been tapped by JetBlue Airways Corp. to develop its new terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport.