South Florida Firm Serves as Florida Counsel in a $1.1 Billion Purchase

( MIAMI) – Kluger, Peretz, Kaplan & Berlin represented Empire Group Holdings LLC as Florida counsel in a billion-dollar, national real estate deal that concluded Thursday, October 5, 2006.

Empire, a privately held company based in Montvale, N.J., purchased the Lexford Housing Division, which is comprised of 289 properties in 10 states and a property management business based in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, consisting of approximately 800 employees.

Kluger, Peretz, Kaplan and Berlin assisted Dreier LLC, a New York City-based firm and Empire’s Chief outside counsel, with the Florida portion of the complex transaction, which covered 85 properties owned by a comparable number of entities and located in 28 counties throughout the state. 

Kluger, Peretz, Kaplan and Berlin’s team included Eliot C. Abbott, Jon Chassen, Dale S. Bergman, associate Karyl Argamasilla, and two paralegals. The team’s primary responsibility was to ensure that the sale and the extensive acquisition financing documentation complied with state law.

“This was a huge deal, but because of our extensive experience in large real estate transactions we were well positioned to effectively manage it,” said Eliot.

About Kluger, Peretz, Kaplan & Berlin, P.L.

Kluger, Peretz, Kaplan & Berlin, P.L. (www.kpkb.com) engages principally in the practice of commercial litigation and dispute resolution, bankruptcy and creditors rights issues, intellectual property litigation and transactions, and corporate and real estate transactions. The firm’s headquarters are located at The Miami Center, Seventeenth Floor, 201 S. Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33131. The main phone number is (305) 379-9000. The firm’s Boca Raton office is located at 2385 NW, Executive Center Drive, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33431. The main phone number is 561-961-1830.