Apollo Real Estate Advisors has raised additional capital for its debt investment fund, Apollo Real Estate Finance, boosting the overall capital for its investment programme from USD621m t
Apollo Real Estate Advisors has raised additional capital for its debt investment fund, Apollo Real Estate Finance, boosting the overall capital for its investment programme from USD621m to USD930m through the establishment of Arefin Co-Investment Corporation. The additional capital will allow the fund to make larger investments, the firm says.
Apollo Real Estate Finance, established in 2006, originates loans for development, redevelopment and repositioning, and invests in whole loans, B-notes and mezzanine loans.
‘The continuing credit crisis has created increased opportunity for us as both a buyer and originator of debt,’ says Bradford Wildauer, an Apollo partner who oversees the firm’s US debt investments. ‘We’ve experienced an increase in the number of opportunities presented to us with more attractive returns and greater ability to structure terms that meet our lending criteria.’
Arefin Co-Investment Corporation was formed to accommodate the increased deal flow and to handle loan commitments up to USD250m, according to Wildauer. ‘In managing Apollo Real Estate Finance, we felt it was prudent to limit loan commitments and retained investment amounts for a single transaction,’ he said. ‘The new vehicle gives us the ability and the flexibility to handle large portfolio transactions.’
Earlier this year, Apollo Real Estate Finance and M&T Bank provided a USD163.5m floating-rate debt package to Taconic Partners and Square Mile Capital for the USD172m purchase of 375 Pearl Street, a 1.2 million square foot Manhattan office complex known as the Verizon Building. Apollo arranged for M&T Bank to provide USD110m in senior debt financing.
Apollo Real Estate Advisors is an international real estate investor and fund manager. Since the firm’s establishment in 1993, Apollo has overseen the establishment of real estate funds and joint ventures totalling some USD11bn in equity commitments for investment in the US and globally. Together the Apollo funds have invested in more than 465 transactions with an aggregate value exceeding USD40bn.
