Ivanho茅 Cambridge and Callahan Capital Partners have replaced part of the debt on a New York office building with the first 鈥済reen bond鈥� commercial mortgage-backed securitisation (CMBS), arranged by Natixis.
Ivanho茅 Cambridge, the real estate arm of Caisse de d茅p么t et placement du Qu茅bec, and private equity firm Callahan, have issued a $72m (鈧�63m) green-specific tranche of CMBS to refinance part of a $358m fixed-rate, first-mortgage loan.
This loan had been provided by Natixis, the asset management and financial services arm of French bank Groupe BPCE, to Ivanho茅 Cambridge for earlier this summer.
Nathalie Palladitcheff, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Ivanho茅 Cambridge, said: 鈥淭his financing is a great example of how like-minded global players are able to work together to bring new green initiatives to the market, which is right in line with Ivanho茅 Cambridge鈥檚 commitment towards sustainability.鈥�
The Manhattan building gained high-level environmental certification in January this year, in the form of a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certificate for the operation and maintenance of an existing building. Platinum is the highest rating level in the LEED system.
The green tranche received strong interest from US and foreign investors, and was oversubscribed, Natixis said.
Natixis described the financing as 鈥渁 first step in the CMBS market which will contribute to diversify the green investment opportunities for investors, while maintaining the high green and transparency standards that Green Bond Principles are trying to safeguard鈥�.
