Toronto company buys Lima's
Chase Tower
LIMA -- Chase Tower in downtown Lima has a new owner.
The
tower was bought from JPMorgan Chase along with 32 other properties
by a real estate acquisition fund managed by a Toronto company.
The total purchase for the 5.3 million square feet of space
was $460 million according to Brookfield Asset Management
Inc.
The price of Chase Tower, 121 High St., in downtown Lima,
was $1,040,889, according to the Allen County Auditor's Office.
The property changed hands Tuesday.
The new owner is Real Estate Opportunity Fund, a conglomerate
of investors managed by Brookfield.
As part of its continuing operations, JPMorgan Chase Bank
signed long-term, leaseback agreements for significant portions
of that space, according to Katherine Vyse, senior vice president
of investor relations and communications for Brookfield.
Toronto Film Fest leaves critics
out
For the past 10 years, on or around this date, this space
has been devoted to a wrap-up of the Toronto International
Film Festival, the largest, and one of the most influential
with Cannes of all such events in the world.
For more than 10 years before that, a similar summation appeared
in other newspapers.
This year, I am unable to properly report on the best films
of the festival many of which will show up in theaters in
the year ahead, some of which are certain to be Oscar nominated,
and some that will be among the best of the year.
I couldn't get in to see them.
After five days of standing in long queues and being turned
away from the theaters where the press and industry screenings
are held, I went back to my hotel, packed up and came home.
Toronto firm will buy Sitel
Sitel Corp., struggling for profitability and under pressure
from investment funds, will be acquired by Onex Corp. and
merged into Onex's Nashville, Tenn., subsidiary, ClientLogic.
Onex, based in Toronto, will pay $4.05 a share for Omaha-based
Sitel in a buyout valued at $450 million. The figure includes
absorbing $140 million in Sitel debt.
The deal, announced today, is expected to close next spring.
Sitel shares were trading at $3.88 by late morning, up 38
cents from Thursday's close. Trading was heavy.
The share price has been moving generally up in the last
week. The stock closed at $2.85 Oct. 3. Its 52-week low of
$2.15 was set Aug. 6.
It wasn't clear this morning what will happen to Sitel's
Omaha operations, after the takeover.
