Name: E. Jerome Batty
Position: Chairman of the Real Estate Practice Group at Hinckley, Allen & Snyder
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Background: Joined the Providence office of Hinckley, Allen & Snyder in 1972, becoming a partner in 1978. Batty’s practice is concentrated in the real estate area, representing major New England developers, construction companies, and financial institution.
Education: B.A. from Brown University, 1968, J.D. also from Boston University, 1972
Age: 57
Residence: Cumberland
Name: Matthew T. Marcello, III
Position: Partner with the Real Estate Practice Group of Hinckley, Allen & Snyder.
Background: Joined the firm in 1972, became a partner in 1978. Marcello’s practice concentrates in banking, real estate, and corporate areas representing various financial institutions in connection with real estate financing, portfolio lending, construction lending, and restructuring throughout the country.
Education: B.S. Cornell University 1968, J.D. Harvard University 1972.
Age: 56
Residence: North Providence
In August, the Providence office of Hinckley, Allen, & Snyder helped facilitate the sale of one of the largest property transactions in New England’s history. E. Jerome Batty and Matthew Marcello, lawyers at Hinckley, Allen &Snyder handled the sale.
The $500 million sale of the Flatley Company’s 4,223-unit apartment portfolio was one of the largest real estate transactions in New England history, second only to the $867 million sale of Boston’s Prudential Center in 1998.
Eleven of the Braintree, Mass.-based Flatley Company properties were bought by the Denver-based real estate-company, Apartment Investment and Management Company (Aimco). The properties span 553 acres of land in three states – Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The sale of the 492-unit Royal Crest Apartments in Warwick alone has been valued at $42 million, and the 216-unit Royal Crest in Fall River, Mass has been valued at $26 million.
With an occupancy rate of 94.6 percent, and monthly rents averaging $1,263, the properties had been owned by the Flatley Company for nearly three decades.
PBN: How did you get involved with this project?
Marcello: We have represented the Flatley Company several times before. We represented them with the sale of the Garden City Shopping Plaza in Cranston. We have also represented the company with the sale of a shopping plaza in Florida. He liked our service, he liked the way we handled things and when this came up, he called us.
How does a deal like this start – where do you look for a buyer?
Marcello: In this case I don’t think he was looking for a buyer; they came to him. A broker in Massachusetts knew the buyer, I believe, and told him that there was a single owner that owned a lot of properties that would be good for them. By the time we got involved they had already had a handshake on what the deal was.
Batty: Actually I think Tom Flatley said the property wasn’t for sale. I think he had been approached many times over the years. He has owned these properties for 25 or 30 years, but he was never interested in selling. This time he was approached, it was a number he was comfortable with, and ultimately agreed to.
What is the timetable for a deal of this size?
Marcello: This was very, very fast. Probably about 60 days. That’s what both sides wanted, especially the seller. The other side was very professional as well they knew what they were doing. I think the purchase and sale agreement was negotiated in three or four days – which is very unusual. These were very professional companies, so you didn’t get into a lot of the things that you would get into with unsophisticated lawyers. They knew what they needed, and they knew how to get it done.
What is the key to success in a deal like this?
Batty: I think the key in this transaction was to be certain that we didn’t run into problems that were going to create delays and affect the fundamentals of the economic transaction. Our goal was to make sure our client was able to realize the return that he anticipated and within the time frame he was looking for.
Marcello: Basically his attitude, which isn’t an uncommon attitude, is what you see is what you get… ‘go look at it guys, buy it if you want to buy it, but don’t come back to me with any problems.’
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