Investment Bankers Buy Playa Vista Debt

Chase Manhattan Bank has sold 83% of the loan on the Playa Vista property near Marina del Rey to Morgan Stanley Group and Goldman Sachs & Co., executives for the investment banks said. The remainder of the mortgage loan has already been purchased by Oak Tree Financial. The loan and accumulated interest total about $200 million, but Chase Manhattan accepted only $84 million for the debt, according to people familiar with the deal. The loan is more than a year overdue, and Chase Manhattan began foreclosure proceedings last month, putting Playa Vista developer Maguire Thomas Partners under greater pressure to find a way to salvage the stalled project. Goldman, Morgan and Union Labor Life Insurance Co. are now working together to take control of the property, where DreamWorks SKG plans to build its main studio and headquarters. The new lenders could force a sale of the property under foreclosure proceedings if a settlement with Maguire is not reached by mid-July.