New York

BLACKSTONE Group hopes to secure at least US$2 billion in first mortgage debt from Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae to help finance its purchase of an iconic Manhattan apartment complex, a source told IFR.

Blackstone and Canada's Ivanhoe Cambridge have already agreed to fund half of their US$5.3 billion purchase of the 110-building Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village with equity. And while the duo are not ruling out commercial-mortgage backed securities (CMBS) debt from bank lenders as a back-up financing option, they prefer securing a lower-leverage loan on the 70-year-old property through one of the housing giants, the source said.