A Creative Approach

Greg represented the owner of 17 gas stations and convenience stores located in Western New York who had reached an agreement in principle to sell his business to a strategic competitor. The sticking point, however, was that the terms of the client’s real estate financing prohibited an early prepayment of the debt, which made a sale of the land underlying the stores impossible. Working with the client’s accountants and financial advisors, Greg and his partner, Tim Kastner, devised a structure whereby the client transferred title to all of the personal property and fixtures of the company and leased the real estate to the buyer with an option to purchase the land at an agreed upon price after the repayment of the loan.