Nareit's REITwise: 2025 Law, Accounting & Finance Conference will be held March 25-27 in San Antonio, Texas. It offers legal, accounting, tax, and finance professionals in the REIT and publicly traded real estate industry dedicated networking time, more than 20 educational sessions, and continuing education credits.
This year’s program covers topics ranging from the latest tax challenges for REITs to FASB and SEC standard-setting initiatives, the benefits of multi-generational collaboration, and more.
Michael Labelle, EVP, CFO and Treasurer at BXP (NYSE: BXP), is one of four program directors for this year’s conference and will be co-moderating the Multifaceted Approach to the Acquisition of Distressed Assets session at REITwise. Labelle provides a preview of the session, and more, below.
Your panel at REITwise will examine how to take a multifaceted approach to the acquisition of distressed assets. Why is this an important topic right now?
With interest rates expected to be higher for longer, and mortgage lending underwriting more conservative than in the past, many assets across the United States are over-leveraged and require a re-equitization. This is a particular challenge for private owners of real estate and offers an opportunity for well capitalized public REITs to be part of the solution through acquiring, or lending to, these assets at discounts to prior valuations.
These transactions can have complex legal and accounting issues that need to be considered as part of structuring the deals. This panel will frame the current environment and describe the legal and accounting considerations that REITs may face.
How is BXP positioned to take advantage of potential acquisition or redevelopment opportunities today?
BXP has a strong balance sheet and the investment capacity to invest capital in new opportunities. We also have deep experience in our markets and relationships with owners, clients, lenders, and community leaders that enable us to bring multiple parties together to achieve a successful redevelopment plan for an under-utilized asset in a good location.
By way of example, we recently acquired a well located vacant building in Washington, D.C. at a significant discount from its mortgage lender. Simultaneous with the acquisition, we executed an anchor lease with an institutional client that derisked and secured a strong return for the investment.
Are there other panels at REITwise that you hope to attend and why?
I hope to attend the State of the Capital Markets and the Merger & Acquisition panels. Both of these are hot topics with the current uncertainties in the economy. The Capital Markets have been shaken by higher interest rates, the risks of future tariff and immigration policies on inflation, and cautious investing in our sector from institutional investors. It is an interesting time to hear what the panel experts views are for the current and future state of the capital markets.
For those new to REITwise, what’s a top reason to attend?
I think the top reasons to attend REITwise are to network and deepen relationships with our fellow finance, accounting, and legal professionals. I know firsthand that our team has gained tremendous value from building our networks and tapping those periodically to discuss key tax and accounting issues.