DH sent along this link from the Atlantic Yards Report which is worth a close look by New Rochelleans
Norman Oder writes Forest City Warns Of $250M-$350M “Impairment” On Atlantic Yards; Investors/Analysts Dismayed
Forest City Enterprises, the Cleveland-based parent of Brooklyn-based developer Forest City Ratner, dropped some alarming news in its third-quarter investment results yesterday: a potential hefty impairment, or lowering of the value of their Atlantic Yards investment.
If a planned deal proceeds with the Shanghai-based, state-owned Greenland Group buying 70% of the remaining Atlantic Yards project, including 14-15 planned towers and infrastructure, a likely change in accounting treatment–part of granting joint control or losing control of the joint venture–would require Forest City’s investment to be recorded “at the lesser of fair value or our current carrying cost.”
And that likely would result “in a non-cash impairment in the range of $250 million to $350 million… to more closely reflect current market values,” the company said in a press release Monday morning.
Investors are not pleased.
The morning announcement prompted calls from investors and analysts “expressing surprise and disappointment at the size of this potential impairment,” Forest City Enterprises CEO David LaRue acknowledged during an afternoon earnings conference call.
“Clearly we are disappointed with this possible impairment as well,” he said. “It spotlights two of the hard lessons we’ve learned coming out of the recession. We need to control land rather than own it, prior to being ready to go vertical, and we need a strong capital partner up front for a project of this magnitude.”
Forest City’s Class A shares on the NYSE dipped 2.9 percent, while the market overall rose slightly.
Value of Atlantic Yards Cut Sharply
There is a lot more, but no mention of Echo Bay. You can read the entire article here.