Ashner/Witkoff Stockholder Group Comments On New York REIT's Termination Of JBG Combination

NEW YORK, Aug. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael L. Ashner, Steven Witkoff, and WW Investors LLC, a jointly owned entity of Michael L. Ashner and Steven Witkoff, issued a statement today in response to the announcement by New York REIT, Inc. NYRT (the "Company") of its immediate termination of the previously announced master combination agreement with the JBG/Operating Partners, L.P. ("JBG") and its adoption of a new plan of selling individual assets.

Michael Ashner commented, "[w]e are pleased that NYRT's Board has finally woken up to what NYRT stockholders have known all along – that the combination with JBG was a poor decision and not in the interest of NYRT stockholders.  The termination of the JBG combination and announced asset sales plan, albeit belated and very costly, are steps in the right direction.  We continue to believe, however, that the current leadership is not composed of the right set of individuals needed to lead our Company through this important process. The Board and management have a disconcerting track record of repeated serious mistakes that have hurt stockholder value. They have acted brazenly in their self-interest to the detriment of stockholders and lost credibility with the market, with their stockholders and with potential buyers for the Company and its assets."

Ashner continued, "[w]e believe that at this critical juncture upgrading the leadership of NYRT is imperative for our Company. Notably, the existing leadership team will continue to have serious and unremedied conflicts of interest through any sale process due to the structure of their advisory agreement, which encourages unwarranted disposition fees and compensates them for extending the process. NYRT should be led by experienced, independent management and directors who have the real credibility and expertise to successfully execute on a corporate sale or asset sales plan.  Our team has a strong history of creating stockholder value through REIT asset liquidations and sales, including four successful liquidations of publically traded REITs and a sale of a fifth one. 

It is imperative that NYRT hold its 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, previously announced to occur on October 24^th, as early as possible so that stockholders have the opportunity to elect the Board that they believe can most effectively oversee the sale or liquidation process.  WW Investors has proposed a well regarded slate of director candidates who can oversee a successful sale or liquidation that maximizes value for all stockholders. The overwhelming positive feedback we have received from our fellow stockholders who supported our call for the termination of the JBG combination has strengthened our conviction and resolve to drive real change at NYRT by obtaining real Board change."

WW Investors' experienced, independent and highly qualified candidates are:

Michael L. Ashner – Mr. Ashner is currently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Winthrop Realty Trust, positions he has held since April 2004 and December 31, 2003, respectively.  Since 1996, Mr. Ashner has served as the Chief Executive Officer of First Winthrop Corporation, a private real estate investment and management company, at which he has also served as a director.  From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Ashner served as the Executive Chairman and a trustee of Lexington Realty Trust ("Lexington") LXP.  From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Ashner served as a director and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Newkirk Realty Trust, Inc. ("Newkirk"), until Newkirk was merged into Lexington in 2008.  From 2002 until their liquidation in 2004, Mr. Ashner served as a director and Chief Executive Officer of each of Shelbourne Properties I, Inc., Shelbourne Properties II, Inc. and Shelbourne Properties III, Inc., three real estate investment trusts. From 1998 to 2010, Mr. Ashner served as a director of NBTY, Inc. (formerly known as Nature's Bounty, Inc.) NTY. Mr. Ashner serves on the Board of Trustees of the Northwell Health System, for which he has been a member since 2002; the Advisory Board of the Cornell University Program in Real Estate, for which he has been a member since 2004; the Board of Trustees of the Beit Ruth School, for which he has been a member since 2001; and the Board of Trustees of the National World War II Museum, for which he has been a member since 2008.  Mr. Ashner earned his AB from Cornell University and his J.D. from The University of Miami.  Mr. Ashner's extensive business leadership skills and experience serving in senior executive positions, coupled with his significant real estate experience, well qualifies him to serve on NYRT's Board of Directors. 

James P. Hoffmann – Mr. Hoffmann is a former Partner and Senior Vice President of Wellington Management Company, a private, independent investment management company, at which he additionally served as the Global Industry Analyst for the real estate sector, as well as on numerous internal management oversight committees, from 1997 to 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Hoffmann served as Vice President and Analyst for Everen Securities, Inc., a nationwide brokerage firm, from 1995 to 1997, and LaSalle Street Capital Management, LLC, an investment advisory firm, in 1995.  From 1992 to 1994, he served as Senior Investment Officer for Real Estate at the Washington State Investment Board, an agency which manages the state's retirement and public funds.  Mr. Hoffmann served as Vice President of Eastdil Realty, Inc., a real estate investment banking company, from 1986 to 1991.  Mr. Hoffmann has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of First Potomac Realty Trust FPO, a real estate investment trust, since May 2015, and also serves on its Audit Committee and Finance and Investment Committee.  In addition, Mr. Hoffmann has served as a director of HCP, Inc. HCP, a company that invests primarily in real estate serving the healthcare industry in the United States, since July 2014, and also serves on its Audit Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and Finance Committee.  Since March 2015, Mr. Hoffmann has been a member of the Board of Representatives of the International Market Centers, L.P., a private REIT, and also serves on its Audit Committee and Compensation Committee. He received a B.S. in Economics and an M.S. in Real Estate Appraisal and Investment Analysis from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  Mr. Hoffmann's experience in investment management and finance, and knowledge of directorial and public company governance matters from his years of service on public boards, well qualifies him to serve on NYRT's Board of Directors.

Gregory Hughes – Mr. Hughes is currently Principal for Roscommon Capital Limited Partnership, a financial advisory and investment firm, a position that he has held since 2010. Mr. Hughes has served as a member of the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee of Gramercy Property Trust GPT since 2012. Mr. Hughes also served as the Chief Operating Officer of SL Green Realty Corp. SLG ("SL Green") from 2007 to 2010 and its Chief Financial Officer from 2004 to 2010, responsible for finance, capital markets, investor relations and administration. From 2004 to 2008, Mr. Hughes also served as Chief Credit Officer of Gramercy Capital Corp. GKK. From 2002 to 2003, prior to joining SL Green, Mr. Hughes was Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the private equity real estate group at JP Morgan Partners. From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Hughes was a Partner and Chief Financial Officer of Fortress Investment Group, an investment and asset management firm, which managed a real estate private equity fund of approximately $900 million and a NYSE listed real estate investment trust with assets in excess of $1.3 billion. While at Fortress Investment Group, Mr. Hughes was actively involved in evaluating a broad range of real estate equity and structured finance investments and arranged various financings to facilitate acquisitions and fund recapitalizations.  Mr. Hughes also served as Chief Financial Officer of Wellsford Residential Property Trust and Wellsford Real Properties,  at which he was responsible for the firm's financial forecasting and reporting, treasury and accounting functions, capital markets and investor relations. From 1985 to 1992, Mr. Hughes worked at Kenneth Leventhal & Co., a public accounting firm specializing in real estate and financial services. Mr. Hughes received a B.S. degree in Accounting from the University of Maryland and is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Hughes' experience serving in senior executive positions and his extensive finance and accounting expertise, well qualifies him to serve on NYRT's Board of Directors. 

Neil H. Koenig – Mr. Koenig is co-founder and co-managing partner of Imowitz Koenig & Co., LLP, a New York based accounting firm that began in 1980.  Mr. Koenig began his career at Ernst & Young LLP, at which he worked in accounting and finance from 1974 to 1979. Additionally, he has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants since 1978, a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants ("NYSSCPA") since 1978, and has also served as Chairman of NYSSCPA's Real Estate Committee.  Mr. Koenig is currently the managing member of Real Estate Systems Implementation Group, LLC ("RESIG") (an affiliate of Imowitz Koenig & Co., LLP).  RESIG provides consulting and administrative support services to the private equity real estate industry.  Mr. Koenig earned his B.S. in Economics from Fairleigh Dickinson University and his MBA in Finance from Fordham University. Mr. Koenig's approximately 40 years of experience in accounting and finance well qualifies him to serve on NYRT's Board of Directors.

Steven Witkoff – Mr. Witkoff is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Witkoff Group, which he founded in 1997. Prior to founding and serving at The Witkoff Group, from 1986 to 1997, Mr. Witkoff co-founded and served at the Steller Management Company, at which he acquired and repositioned a portfolio of residential buildings in New York City.  Prior to his time at Steller, Mr. Witkoff practiced as an attorney in real estate law at Dreyer & Traub and Rosenman & Colin from 1983 to 1986, at which he represented a number of large developers and investors.  Mr. Witkoff has served on the Executive Committee for the Real Estate Board of New York, and as a Trustee for the Intrepid Foundation.  Mr. Witkoff has served on the Board of Trustees of Hofstra University since 2015, and the Jeffrey Modell Foundation since 1998. Mr. Witkoff earned both his bachelor's degree and J.D. from Hofstra University in 1980 and 1983, respectively.  Mr. Witkoff's approximately 30 years of experience in real estate and leadership positions well qualifies him to serve on the Board. 

About WW Investors LLC, Michael L. Ashner and Steven Witkoff:

Michael L. Ashner is currently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Winthrop Realty Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust in the process of shareholder approved liquidation.  Mr. Ashner has over 30 years of experience in owning, managing, leasing, selling and investing in all types of real estate and real estate related assets.  Mr. Ashner has been the Chairman of six publicly traded real estate investment trusts and served as Chief Executive Officer for five of them, all five of which successfully engaged in a strategic transaction to maximize value for their stockholders.  Steven Witkoff is currently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Witkoff Group, a privately held, global real estate development and investment firm headquartered in New York City. WW Investors LLC is a venture between Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Ashner to acquire shares of common stock in NY REIT.

WW Investors LLC, Michael L. Ashner and Steven Witkoff (collectively, "WW Investors Group"), intends to file preliminary proxy statements and accompanying proxy cards with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") to be used to solicit votes (i) for the election of its slate of director nominees at the 2016 annual meeting of stockholders of the Company and (ii) in opposition to the transaction among NYRT, New York Operating Partnership, L.P., JBG Properties, Inc. and JBG Operating Partners, L.P. and certain of their affiliated pooled investment funds, announced by the Company on May 25, 2016.

The following persons are anticipated to be, or may be deemed to be, participants in any such proxy solicitation:  WW Investors LLC, Michael L. Ashner, James P. Hoffmann, Gregory Hughes, Neil H. Koenig, and Steven Witkoff.

WW INVESTORS STRONGLY ADVISES ALL SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENTS AND OTHER PROXY MATERIALS AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. SUCH PROXY MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON THE SEC'S WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV. IN ADDITION, THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PROXY SOLICITATION WILL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE PROXY STATEMENTS WITHOUT CHARGE, WHEN AVAILABLE, UPON REQUEST. 

As of the date hereof, WW Investors directly owns 80 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share, of the Company (the "Common Stock").  As of the date hereof, Mr. Ashner directly owns 1,052,600 shares of Common Stock, and may be deemed to beneficially own an additional 6,000 shares of Common Stock held in his spouse's IRA.  As of the date hereof, Mr. Hoffman directly owns 75,000 shares of Common Stock.  As of the date hereof, Mr. Hughes directly owns 20,000 shares of Common Stock.  As of the date hereof, Mr. Witkoff directly owns 149,960 shares of Common Stock.  Each of Messrs. Ashner and Witkoff, as a manger and a member of WW Investors, may be deemed the beneficial owner of the 80 shares of Common Stock directly owned by WW Investors.  Mr. Koenig does not directly or indirectly own any shares of Common Stock.

CONTACT:

Bob Marese
MacKenzie Partners, Inc.
Email:  bmarese@mackenziepartners.com
Tel:  (212) 929 – 5405 

Larry Schimmel
MacKenzie Partners, Inc.
Email: lschimmel@mackenziepartners.com
Tel: (212) 378 - 7068

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SOURCE WW Investors LLC