Easton Lynd Snaps Up $62M of Notes on Distressed Assets

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Easton Lynd Management, which has been casting its net for distressed portfolios for several years, has now landed an impressive quarry. The Miami-based investment and property management firm disclosed Wednesday that it paid $62 million in cash to a special servicing agent for notes on 14 properties totaling 1.3 million square feet.

The portfolio consists of office, industrial and retail assets in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington, D.C. Easton Lynd plans to reposition the properties and decide the next step for each on a case-by-case basis. “Each of the assets is different–different markets, different rents,” A. David Lynd, president of Easton Lynd (pictured at right), said on Wednesday afternoon. “We don’t have a macro strategy for them.”

Easton Lynd has been on the hunt for groups of distressed properties since 2008. “This is the first pool we’ve been able to secure,” Lynd reported. “They are not easy to find; typically, they’re not around.” The search, however, appears ready to get easier: “Banks are starting to sell portfolios. Before, they were selling one-off.”

Easton Lynd has raised funds for the purpose of buying assets in distress, and has an additional $100 million of equity to work with as opportunities arise. The recent acquisition has expanded the company’s portfolio to 12 million square feet.