ACRE (Asia Capital Real Estate) Announces $320 Million Commitment From Almanac Realty Investors

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE) – Asia Capital Real Estate (“ACRE”), a global real estate private equity firm that manages capital for institutional and family office investors, today announced that it has acquired a partnership with Almanac Realty Investors, the private real estate investment arm von Neuberger Berman, managed fund has committed $ 320 million in capital for various funds managed by ACRE. The investment will serve to provide strategic growth capital to ACRE’s general partner and investment manager, as well as investments in the upcoming line of private equity and debt equity funds for real estate that focus on multi-family investments.

ACRE plans to invest over $ 2 billion through its upcoming private equity funds and has already provided over $ 300 million in loans with the support of Almanac and other investors.

“We are delighted that such a significant asset management firm like Neuberger Berman is investing in ACRE with a commitment of this magnitude and is equally honored to work with the experienced and highly respected team at Almanac to expand our platform and strengthen our relationships with institutional investors expand and allocators, ”said ACRE founding partner Les Menkes. “This timely injection of capital is testament to our proven investment, development and management strategies and the track record that we have built over the past decade.”

Almanac’s $ 320 million exposure comes amid a volatile year in the commercial real estate industry as investors grapple with market disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a vertically integrated real estate private equity firm and multi-family direct lender specializing in the acquisition, development and management of value adding workforces and affordable residential real estate in strategic growth markets in the US, ACRE is well positioned to be an alternative for ACRE to offer investors who wish to avoid exposure to areas of the property market affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as retail and hospitality.

“The uncertainty of the current economic climate has had an acute impact on commercial real estate, prompting many investors to look for funds with a more secure risk-return profile,” said Michael Van Der Poel, ACRE founding partner. “Small and medium-sized multi-family investments offer more stable long-term prospects than many other areas of the market, and sponsors are becoming increasingly aware of the assets and differentiating factors of the asset class. ACRE’s experience in this area and creative approach to structuring offer a natural advantage in the industry. We are grateful that Neuberger Berman and Almanac support us in successfully managing a rapidly developing market and accelerating our relationships with global institutional investors. ”

“ACRE has a successful track record in the multi-family sector that spans equity, credit investing and property management. Combined with positive long-term multi-family fundamentals, both attractive real estate opportunities and ACRE’s continued growth should make a world-class, vertically integrated multi-family platform.” said Justin Hakimian, managing director at Almanac.

Neuberger Berman took over Almanac in January 2020 to expand its range of real estate solutions. Almanac Realty Investors was founded in 1981 and works with established owners across all sectors of the real estate market to raise capital for business growth. The company has provided more than $ 6.1 billion in capital to 46 public and private real estate companies across North America. The various partners include the Mack Real Estate Group, RXR Realty, CA Ventures, Slate Asset Management, ReNew Senior Living and Westcore Properties.

Employee owned independent finance firm Baird was the exclusive financial advisor to ACRE on the transaction, led by Jim O’Brien of Baird’s Real Estate Investment Banking team.

About Asia Capital Real Estate Founded in 2011, ACRE is a global private equity real estate company managing capital for institutional and family office investors through a range of private equity and debt funds investing over $ 2.7 billion and focus on multi-family strategies. ACRE is a vertically integrated owner-operator that specializes in multi-family real estate through active investments both in the direct equity and debt capital markets and through special situation opportunities. ACRE manages a global portfolio with offices in Atlanta, New York and Singapore.

Since its inception, ACRE has acquired, operated, developed, and lent over 22,000 homes in 75 properties and 31 cities. ACRE’s strategies are focused on direct real estate investment and loan investment and are focused on the United States. Additional properties are currently under development in Southeast Asia and the UK. www.acremgt.com

About Neuberger Berman Founded in 1939, Neuberger Berman is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The company manages a range of strategies on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors worldwide – including stocks, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset classes, private equity, real estate and hedge funds. With branches in 24 countries, Neuberger Berman’s diverse team has more than 2,300 specialists. For seven consecutive years, the company was named first or second in the “Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management” survey (among those with 1,000 or more employees). In 2020, the PRI named Neuberger Berman a Leader, an award given to less than 1% of investment firms for environmental, social and governance (ESG) excellence. The PRI awarded Neuberger Berman an A + in each eligible category for our approach to ESG integration across asset classes. The company had $ 374 billion in client assets as of September 30, 2020. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

About Almanac Realty Investors Since 1996, Almanac (along with its predecessor, Rothschild Realty, Inc.) has primarily raised growth capital in private and public companies that own and operate real estate in North America. Almanac-managed funds have committed over $ 6.1 billion in funds to 46 companies. Almanac’s portfolio companies are structured to combine proven management teams within a specific real estate sector with owning focused portfolios of real estate assets and interests. These companies are run by a board of directors composed mainly of representatives from the management teams and from Almanac. The focus is on protecting and increasing shareholder value, generating dividends, defining strategies, allocating capital and working with management to optimize resources. www.almanacrealty.com.