Reuters: Private Equity: NYC Blackout leaves REIT investors in the dark

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NYC Blackout leaves REIT investors in the dark Jun 13th 2012, 21:48 By Ilaina Jonas NEW YORK, June 13 | Wed Jun 13, 2012 5:48pm EDT NEW YORK, June 13 (Reuters) - More than 2,100 investors, analysts and executives of U.S. real estate investment trusts were left in the dark most of the afternoon on Wednesday after an accident in an electric room under construction at the Hilton New York hotel in midtown Manhattan caused a power failure. "There were some announcements on loudspeakers and the lights were flashing," said Ian Goltra, a portfolio manager at Forward Management who was attending the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts annual REITWeek2012. Goltra was one of about 500 people at a luncheon at which Harvard University Professor of Economics Kenneth Rogoff was speaking when power went down. Rogoff finished his speech without a microphone. About 70 percent of the hotel owned by The Blackstone Group LP was expected to have power by about 6 p.m. EDT, with the other 30 percent expected to be in the dark for about two days, New York Fire Department Borough Commander James Esposito said. The hotel was not evacuated, but many guests went to the street. An employee handed out bottles of water in the lobby. Some emergency power left two escalators running and light in the 42nd floor suit where Stephen Sterrett, chief financial officer of Simon Property Group Inc, the world's largest real estate company, was meeting with investors. "There's a benefit to being the biggest," said Sandler O'Neill analyst Alex Goldfarb. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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