“Jonathan Baker is a rising star in the practice. He brings a practical approach and calm demeanor to the most challenging transactions.”
Legal 500

Overview

Jonathan S. Baker is a partner in the Chicago office of Mayer Brown's Real Estate practice. Jonathan represents US and foreign private equity funds, real estate investment trusts, insurance companies, opportunity funds, developers and other institutional investors in all types of equity and debt real estate transactions, including joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions, financings and developments involving all types of real estate assets including office buildings, apartment complexes, retail centers, industrial and logistics facilities, hotels, medical office buildings and assisted-living facilities. He regularly represents equity investors in the creation of joint ventures for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating all classes of real estate assets. He also has significant experience in cross-border real estate transactions that use complex tax structures. He also represents a variety of financial institutions in private placement transactions and other financings with a particular focus on credit tenant loans.

Prior to attending law school, Jonathan worked as an analyst for Heartland Capital Resources providing individual stock and portfolio analysis with a focus on small and micro-cap stocks within the energy, basic materials and financial sectors.

Areas of Focus

Practices
Industries

Spoken Languages

  • English

Experience

  • Represented a foreign insurance company its acquisition of a 44 percent stake in the office building in New York in a transaction that valued the property at $2.15 billion.
  • Represented a publicly traded REIT in a $1.2 billion mortgage and mezzanine loan transaction, the proceeds of which were used to purchase the seeding assets of the REIT in conjunction with the REIT’s initial public offering.
  • Represented a retail operating company in multiple restructurings of a $1.3 billion sale-leaseback transaction.
  • Represented a foreign insurance company in its acquisition of a 43 percent stake in a mixed-use building in New York City located in Times Square that valued the 1.86 million-square-foot tower at $1.95 billion.
  • Represented a foreign insurance company in the formation of a strategic programmatic joint venture with a U.S. REIT that will invest in select US commercial properties. The companies have initially contributed $1.26 billion in assets to the venture and are seeking additional assets to jointly acquire.
  • Represented multiple institutional lenders in over 40 private placement credit tenant loans totaling over $2.2 billion in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, California, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, North Carolina and Florida.
  • Represented a foreign insurance company in the acquisition of a 45% interest in a joint venture that owns and operates student housing facilities in which valued the properties at $824 million and the capitalization of the new joint venture included the origination of $330 million of debt.
  • Represented a foreign insurance company in the $421 million purchase of an office building in Washington DC as part of its joint venture with a U.S. REIT.
  • Represented a foreign insurance company in the formation of a joint venture with a U.S. REIT to acquire an iconic mixed use (commercial and retail) office building in San Francisco, CA for a purchase price of $291 million.
  • Represented a foreign investment fund in the $110 million sale-leaseback of a hotel in Chicago, IL.
  • Represented a foreign investment fund in the $145 million sale-leaseback of a hotel in Portland, OR.
  • Represented an open-end fund in the disposition of an office building in Chicago for a purchase price of $360 million.
  • Represented a foreign investment fund in a series of acquisitions of industrial properties in Hartford, Connecticut and St. Louis, Missouri totaling more than $150 million.
  • Represented a private equity fund in the sale of a portion of the interests in an existing joint venture with a developer and formation of an upper-tier joint venture with a state pension fund in a transaction that valued the underlying property, a mall in Hawaii at $236 million.
  • Represented a foreign insurance company in the formation of a joint venture and the $365 million acquisition of an office park in Miami, Florida, including multiple development parcels.
  • Represented a foreign insurance company in the formation of a joint venture and the $215 million acquisition of a ground lease of an office building in New York, NY, the transaction included the formation and public offering of a private REIT.

Perspectives

News

Education

University of Notre Dame Law School, JD, magna cum laude
Articles Editor Notre Dame Law Review;  Dean's List

Pepperdine University, BA, cum laude

Admissions

  • Illinois