Profile
James J. Caserio focuses his practice on domestic and cross-border real estate transactions, real estate finance, joint ventures and development. His clients include institutional investors, public and private real estate companies, retailers, developers, REITs, hedge funds, other investment funds and financial institutions.
Concentrations
- Acquisitions and dispositions
- Real estate finance
- Joint ventures
- Portfolio transactions
- Cross-border
- Development
- Loan sales
- Loan restructurings and workouts
Capabilities
Experience
- Represented a consortium of investors in connection with their acquisition of a 755-property portfolio from Albertson's, LLC. The acquisition was part of a larger $17.4 billion leveraged buyout transaction, which was the second largest ever of its kind in the United States.
- Represented one of the bidders in the sale of the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise. The Chicago Cubs franchise is noted by Forbes as the fourth most valuable Major League Baseball team and is worth over $700 million.
- Represented a privately held owner of supermarket properties in connection with its sale of 72 convenience stores and fuel centers to Valero Energy Corporation.
- Represented a privately held owner of supermarket properties in connection with its sale of 49 supermarket stores in Florida to Publix Super Markets Inc.
- Represented a publicly traded shopping center REIT in connection with the acquisition of another publicly traded shopping center REIT for $2.9 billion in equity investment and the assumption of $1.1 billion in debt. This transaction also involved the negotiation and closing of over $1 billion in new mortgage loans.
- Represented a publicly traded shopping center REIT in connection with its acquisition and development of shopping center properties located throughout Mexico in multiple transactions involving assets in excess of $1 billion.
- Represented a publicly traded shopping center REIT in connection with the acquisition and development of two shopping center properties located in Peru.
- Represented a publicly traded shopping center REIT in connection with its $250 million acquisition of a 50 percent interest in a portfolio comprised of 55 industrial properties located throughout Mexico.
- Represented a publicly traded shopping center REIT in connection with the sale of a shopping center located in a Chicago suburb for approximately $118 million.
- Represented a publicly traded shopping center REIT in the acquisition of former K-Mart Corporation properties.
- Represented a privately held hotel owner in connection with the acquisition of the Four Seasons Hotel located in Austin, Texas.
- Represented a privately held hotel owner in connection with the acquisition of the Sofitel Hotel located in Redwood City, California.
- Represented a major retailer in the purchase and redevelopment of 24 of Service Merchandise's retail properties.
- Represented a publicly traded shopping center REIT in an opportunistic joint venture with a private lodging and hospitality company with respect to the $781 million purchase of the owner and operator of a portfolio of extended stay hotel properties located throughout the United States.
- Represented a publicly traded shopping center REIT and a publicly traded insurance company in a private joint venture in the disposition of a portfolio of 60 shopping centers across several Western United States.
- Represented a joint venture comprised of a privately held real estate company and a real estate investment fund in connection with the restructuring of an approximately $475 million mortgage loan as part of the acquisition by the joint venture of a portfolio of multi-family housing properties.
- Represented a joint venture which acquired rights to all of Montgomery Ward's real estate (over 300 properties). The joint venture consisted of the largest owner of shopping center malls, the largest owner of community shopping centers and a major retailer.
- Represented a publicly traded shopping center REIT in connection with multiple individual mortgage loan transactions involving shopping center properties throughout the United States.
- Represented a privately held retail real estate company in connection with its approximately $90 million corporate credit facility.
- Represented a developer of multi-family housing in connection with an approximately $63 million construction loan for a project located in Denver, Colorado.
- Represented a developer of multi-family housing in connection with an approximately $52 million construction loan for a project located in Huntington Beach, California.
- Represented a developer of multi-family housing in connection with an approximately $78 million construction loan for a project located in Austin, Texas.
- Represented the lender in a major real estate financing for Shopko Stores, Inc.
- Represented the secured lender for Ames Department Stores, Inc. relating to the disposition of more than 75 properties.
- Represented several multi-strategy hedge funds in connection with opportunistic investments in debt and equity related to commercial real estate.
Recognition & Leadership
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Real Estate Law, 2013-2024
- Listed, Leading Lawyers Network, 2012-2023
- Team Member, Chambers & Partners USA Real Estate Law Firm of the Year, 2010, 2013, 2017-2018 and 2022
- Listed, Legal 500 United States, 2008-2009, 2011, 2015, and 2020
- Team Member, a U.S. News - Best Lawyers®, "Law Firm of the Year" in Real Estate Law, 2015
- Team Member, The Legal 500 United States, "Top Tier" Firm in Real Estate, 2013 and 2014
- Team Member, a Law360 "Real Estate Practice Group of the Year," 2011-2013, 2015, and 2022
Credentials
Education
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J.D., University of Michigan Law School, 1996
- Associate Editor and Contributing Editor, Michigan Journal of International Law
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B.A., Northwestern University, 1993
- Phi Beta Kappa
Admissions
- Illinois