"It's our first international real estate fund," John J. McCombe, Cohen & Steers executive vice president, tells GlobeSt.com, adding that the closed-end fund will have half of its assets invested internationally. He says one of the main reasons Cohen & Steers is venturing in the international arena now is due to the adoption of REIT-like structures in other countries.

The fund's primary investment objective is high current income with capital appreciation being a secondary objective. The fund will invest primarily in a portfolio of global real estate equity securities.

The actual amount raised could be increased to approximately $325 million assuming full exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment, which may not occur. The fund anticipates issuing auction rate preferred shares that, if completed at anticipated levels, would bring the managed assets of the fund to approximately $475 million.

Cohen & Steers Capital Management Inc., which serves as the fund's investment manager, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cohen & Steers Inc. Houlihan Rovers S.A., which serves as the fund's subadvisor, is a Belgium-based global real estate securities manager. Cohen & Steers owns 50% of the capital stock of Houlihan Rovers. UBS Securities LLC is the lead underwriter of a syndicate that includes Merrill Lynch, Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc.

Earlier this year, Cohen & Steers Dividend Majors Fund Inc. issued 11.8 million shares at a price of $20 per share raising $236 million in assets in its initial public offering. If there is a full exercise of the underwriter's overallotment, it could total out at $271 million. Last year, Cohen & Steers Inc. files a registration statement for its own IPO with an offering amount of $105 million.

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