Harman Becker Research Headquarters

Harman Becker Automotive is a 180,000 s.f. build-to-suit office/research lab for Harman Becker Automotive.  Harman Becker is the parent company of brands JBL, Harman Kardon, Mark Levison  and other high-end sound systems. Their technological emphasis is on the connected car concept, a huge area of growth.  They have been an NEG client since 2001, starting off with a 30,000 s.f. office in a multi-tenant building.  The headquarters project was the culmination of years of growth in their core business and within our portfolio.  We consolidated 3 other Harman locations and added additional space for their growth prospects. The location employs over 750 associates, mostly engineers .

I was responsible for financing the construction and permanent loan.  Harman is a BBB+ rated credit.  We negotiated a fixed price building contract and a 15 year lease structure.  In order to mitigate the potential interest rate risk on this $40 million deal, I structured a unique 13 month forward commitment to lock in a 15 year fixed interest rate using swap spreads with a regional bank.   An interest rate lock for a delivery of the permanent loan 13 months from the date of closing of the construction loan was not available any where else in the market.  I received numerous Credit Tenant Lease loan quotes, but these structures required an amortization equal to the lease term, severely impacting investor's cash flow.  The final structure had a loan term of 15 years and a 20 year amortization, which dramatically increased the project’s cash flow over the lease term.