RREEF buys 5 Edgewater buildings
EDGEWATER – Real estate investment adviser RREEF of San Francisco has purchased the five-building retail component of City Place from its developer, Edgewater Enterprises, for an undisclosed sum. The retail segment of the mixed-use development currently totals 132,000 square feet. It’s 100 percent leased by tenants including the Gap, Victoria’s Secret, and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse. But the deal also locks RREEF into acquiring a sixth building, still under construction, that will house an exclusive health club. That building should be finished early next year. RREEF, a 28-year-old business with $18 billion in assets, is owned by Deutsche Bank.
– Allison Pries
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Barr gets OK for generic Remeron
WOODCLIFF LAKE – Barr Laboratories Inc. has won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for a generic form of Organon Inc.’s anti-depression drug Remeron Soltab. Barr said it plans to launch the generic version, called Mirtazapine Orally Disintegrating Tablets, immediately. The company believes it was the first to seek the right to make the generic version. If so, Barr Laboratories will have exclusive rights to it for the next 180 days.
– The Associated Press
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PNC agrees to community plan
NEWARK – PNC Bank has signed on to a community reinvestment agreement, promising to commit $883 million to New Jersey residents over the next three years. The agreement, signed Thursday, covers below-rate mortgages, discounted home improvement loans, small business loans, community and economic development loans, and community grants. PNC Bank, headquartered in Pittsburgh, said it will commit the money as soon as it completes its purchase of Bridgewater-based United National Bancorp, parent of UnitedTrust Bank. The acquisition is expected to take place in January.
– The Associated Press
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Mass. subpoenas Pru documents
NEWARK – Prudential Financial Inc., the third-largest U.S. life insurer, said the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts has subpoenaed the company for documents pertaining to alleged improper trading of mutual fund shares. Prudential received the subpoena Dec. 9, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC and Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin last month filed complaints alleging seven former Prudential Securities Inc. branch managers and brokers committed securities fraud in making short-term trades for hedge fund clients.
– The Associated Press
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Bristol-Myers in deal with Lexicon
NEW YORK – Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., the fourth-biggest U.S. drugmaker, will give Lexicon Genetics Inc. at least $66 million as part of a joint effort to develop psychiatric and neurological medicines. Bristol-Myers said it will make an initial payment of $36 million and supply the rest of the funds over three years. Bristol- Myers may extend the alliance for another two years in exchange for paying as much as $50 million. Working with Lexicon may allow Bristol-Myers to boost sales of psychiatric therapies, building on schizophrenia treatment Abilify. The agreement is the largest yet for money-losing Lexicon, which uses gene research to find new medications.
– The Associated Press
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30-year mortgage falls to 5.82%
WASHINGTON – For the week ending today, the average rate on 30- year mortgages slid to 5.82 percent, down from 5.88 percent the previous week. So said Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, in its weekly nationwide survey of mortgage rates Thursday. For 15-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, rates fell to 5.14 percent this week, down sharply from 5.24 percent last week.
– The Associated Press
