LOS ANGELES-Those who follow @GlobeStcom on Twitter and @GlobeStLIVE may have seen a post teasing the announcement yesterday, but GlobeSt.com has learned that locally based Kearny Real Estate in a venture with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing has acquired a commercial real estate loan portfolio with an outstanding balance of $89 million. The portfolio comprises 17 performing, sub- and non-performing loans secured by 1.65 million square feet of office, industrial and retail assets.

According to a prepared statement from Kearny Real Estate, the properties are located in California, Texas, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Illinois, Oregon, Ohio, Tennessee and Florida.

And while Keary tells GlobeSt.com that per confidentiality agreement, it cannot name the seller, except to say that it was an international financial services company, GlobeSt.com has received confirmation from an unidentified source not involved in the deal that the seller of the portfolio was Sunlife Assurance.

In the last 20 months, Kearny has closed on more than $500 million of loan acquisitions with a goal to acquire an additional $500 million, according to Kearny managing partner Jeffrey A. Dritley. He points out that loan portfolios are an important part of the firm’s acquisition strategy, which focuses on value-add real estate.

“We feel we are only in the fifth inning of the current workout cycle and see plenty of opportunity where we can create value with our non- and sub- performing loans,” explains Dritley.

Dritley tells GlobeSt.com that one of the firm’s challenges is to decide which debt portfolios to really dig into and which ones to quickly pass on. “There were a lot of debt portfolios being marketed this spring.”

He continues to note that “the collateral in this portfolio are class B buildings in secondary markets which to us was very compelling as we made the bet that this would scare off a number of other potential competitors.”

Eastdil Secured represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction.

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Natalie Dolce

Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.