Sec Form 4 Filing - Rush Gregory Z @ NORTHSTAR REALTY FINANCE CORP. - 2017-01-10

FORM 4 Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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1. Name and Address of Reporting Person Rush Gregory Z 2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol NORTHSTAR REALTY FINANCE CORP. [ NRF] 5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) X __ Director _____ 10% Owner _____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) (Last) (First) (Middle) C/O NORTHSTAR REALTY FINANCE CORP., 399 PARK AVENUE, 18TH FLOOR 3. Date of Earliest Transaction (MM/DD/YY) 01/10/2017 (Street) NEW YORK, NY10022 4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed (MM/DD/YY) 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) __ X __ Form filed by One Reporting Person _____ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip)

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned 1.Title of Security (Instr. 3) 2. Transaction Date (MM/DD/YY) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (MM/DD/YY) 3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4) 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price Common Stock ( 1 ) 01/10/2017 M 10,955 A 22,564 D Common Stock ( 1 ) 01/10/2017 D 22,564 D 0 D

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned ( e.g. , puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities) 1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3) 2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (MM/DD/YY) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (MM/DD/YY) 4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4, and 5) 6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (MM/DD/YY) 7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities (Instr. 3 and 4) 8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5) 9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4) 10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) Code V (A) (D) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares Restricted Stock Units ( 3 ) ( 3 ) 01/1 0/2017 M 10,955 ( 3 ) ( 3 ) Common Stock 10,955 $ 0 0 D

Reporting Owners Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships Director 10% Owner Officer Other Rush Gregory Z C/O NORTHSTAR REALTY FINANCE CORP. 399 PARK AVENUE, 18TH FLOOR NEW YORK, NY10022 X Signatures /s/ Ronald J. Lieberman, as Attorney-in-Fact for Gregory Rush 01/12/2017 Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

( 1 )Represents shares of common stock of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. ("NRF"), par value $0.01 per share ("Common Stock"), that were issued upon the settlement of restricted stock units ("RSUs") that vested in connection with the merger (the "CLNS Merger") of New Sirius Inc. ("New NRF") into Colony NorthStar, Inc. ("CLNS") on January 10, 2017, which followed substantially concurrent reorganization transactions involving NRF (the "NRF Reorganization") pursuant to which NRF became a wholly owned subsidiary of New NRF, which had previously been a wholly owned subsidiary of NRF, and all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock were converted into an equal number of shares of common stock of New NRF. ( 2 )Disposed of pursuant to the merger of New NRF with and into CLNS in exchange for shares of CLNS common stock at a ratio of one share of New NRF common stock for 1.0996 shares of CLNS common stock having a market value of $15.84 per share on the effective date of the CLNS Merger based on the reported closing sale price on such date. Prior to the merger of New NRF with and into CLNS, all outstanding shares of Common Stock were automatically converted into an equal number of shares of New NRF common stock pursuant to the NRF Reorganization. ( 3 )Represents RSUs that vested in connection with the CLNS Merger described in footnote (1) above that were subject to vesting in three equal installments on each of March 1, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Upon vesting, each RSU was to be settled in shares of Common Stock or in cash. The RSUs expired and ceased to exist following settlement.

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