LOS ANGELES—The owners of Olympic Plaza, a 244,448-square-foot office property in Los Angeles, have secured a $48 million loan to refinance some CMBS debt that will mature in the first quarter of the year, GlobeSt.com has learned exclusively. The names of the borrowers were not disclosed, but sources unrelated to the deal tell GlobeSt.com that Keitei Yokeno and Phillip Ho were the borrowers in the transaction. 

To avoid a prepayment penalty and to secure the lowest possible rate, the borrowers used a forward rate-lock program to secure the debt. The process began in March of 2015, and the deal closed in December 2015, after the prepayment penalty had expired.

"In March 2015, NorthMarq Capital was retained to refinance a CMBS loan that was maturing in early 2016," Blake Melstrom, a VP at NorthMarq Capital, tells GlobeSt.com. "Although the borrower wanted to take advantage of the low interest rate environment, the current loan carried a large defeasance prepayment penalty until Nov. 30. NorthMarq Capital, through our extensive list of correspondent life insurance company lenders, identified several lenders offering forward commitments until Dec. 1. The forward commitment enabled the borrower to take advantage of locking in a long-term, non-recourse loan at a low interest rate and avoid paying a large defeasance penalty." Melstrom secured the funds on behalf of the borrower.

The loan has a 10-year term and 25-year amortization schedule, and was funded through a life insurance company. While the name of the company was also not disclosed, our sources say Guardian Insurance Co. funded the loan.