Nancy Olson is head of the Real Estate Group in Skadden’s Chicago office and is active in all areas of the firm’s real estate practice. 

Bio

Ms. Olson advises on joint venture transactions, private equity investments, financings, portfolio and single-asset acquisitions and dispositions, real estate fund formation and investments, leasing, distressed asset workouts and reorganizations, and real property development. As a member of the firm’s real estate investment trust (REIT) practice, Ms. Olson also counsels clients on REIT formation, structuring and related transactions.

Ms. Olson represents both lenders and borrowers in connection with her real estate finance practice. She advises clients with respect to secured and unsecured loans, lines of credit and construction loan facilities, including for REITs and other clients that own and lease real properties in every space.

Ms. Olson has extensive experience advising sellers, buyers and investors in joint venture arrangements and private equity investments with respect to industrial/logistics properties, net leased assets, mixed-use and single-family rentals, senior housing, office properties, hotels and resorts, and shopping centers located inside and outside the United States, and related debt structuring transactions.

Ms. Olson has represented various clients on significant transactions, including:

  • GIC in connection with (i) a take-private $15 billion acquisition, in partnership with Oak Street, of STORE Capital and a related $2.6 billion acquisition financing and (ii) a take-private $4.4 billion acquisition, together with Dream Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust, of Summit Industrial Income REIT
  • investors in connection with (i) an $8.1 billion joint venture for the acquisition and ownership of industrial facilities; (ii) an approximately $2 billion joint venture to acquire and own rental homes; (iii) an approximately $300 million joint venture to develop and operate purpose-built, for-rent multifamily buildings across Mexico’s largest cities; (iv) the acquisition of a portfolio of Class A office assets in California, including the negotiation of a purchase agreement, acquisition loan and construction agreements; (v) a joint venture focused on investing in private-pay independent living, assisted living and memory care communities; (vi) programmatic joint ventures for the purpose of developing, acquiring and operating data centers as well as life sciences and technology real properties across the U.S.; (vii) a joint venture and the related acquisition of a 95% interest in a 50-story office tower in New York City; (viii) a $5.4 billion joint venture for the ownership of a portfolio of regional malls throughout the U.S.; and (ix) a joint venture for investment in student housing opportunities in the U.S.
  • Brookdale Senior Living Inc. in (i) a multi-faceted transaction during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a $500 million rent reduction and other lease modifications, (ii) its $2.8 billion merger with Emeritus Corporation, (iii) its $1.2 billion opco/propco joint venture with HCP, Inc. and (iv) the restructuring of its leased portfolios with Ventas, Inc. and Welltower Inc.
  • New Senior Investment Group Inc. (i) in its $725 million loan from Goldman Sachs and (ii) in various acquisitions, dispositions and financings of senior housing communities, including pursuant to a $1 billion sale/leaseback transaction and a $233 million opco/propco acquisition
  • Holiday Retirement Corp. (i) in its $1 billion sale of 29 senior housing communities and (ii) in its sale/leaseback of senior housing communities with New Senior, NHI and Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.

In recognition of her work, Ms. Olson has been:

  • repeatedly ranked in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and IFLR1000
  • named among GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum’s 2023 Women of Influence, Senior Housing Influencers, Net Lease Influencers and Industrial Influencers
  • honored as a 2023 Real Estate MVP by Law360
  • repeatedly selected by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of Chicago’s Notable Gen X Leaders in Law, Notable Women in Law (including in 2024) and Most Influential Women Lawyers
  • recognized as Best in Real Estate at Euromoney’s Women in Business Law Americas Awards

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., Loyola University School of Law, Chicago, 1996
  • B.A., Northwestern University, 1993

Admissions

  • Illinois

Nancy M. Olson