NEW YORK CITY—MetLife originated approximately $14 billion globally in commercial real estate loans in 2015 through its real estate investment group, an 18% increase over the more than $12 billion originated in the previous year.
The insurance giant also committed to invest approximately $1 billion in real estate equity in 2015, either through direct acquisition or as part of joint venture partnerships.
Within its international portfolio, MetLife expanded its lending activities in 2015, originating commercial real estate loans of more than $1.6 billion in the United Kingdom and more than $200 million in Mexico.
MetLife's institutional asset management business, MetLife Investment Management, also had a strong year. Celebrating its third year in operation in 2015, MIM originated approximately $1.1 billion in commercial mortgage loans for institutional clients.
"MetLife continued to be a major investor in real estate in 2015, focusing on a number of key sectors, including commercial mortgages, real estate equity, and investments on behalf of our institutional clients," says Robert Merck, senior managing director and global head of real estate investments. "Following our strategy of investing in major markets with strong fundamentals, MetLife strengthened its position as a leader in commercial mortgage lending both domestically and internationally. We also continued to create attractive opportunities for institutional investors through MetLife Investment Management, and we believe that 2016 will bring more success in asset management."
MetLife's real estate platform includes origination and asset management offices across eleven regional offices in the United States, London, Mexico City, Tokyo and Santiago, Chile.
The company originated a number of commercial real estate loan transactions of $150 million and above in 2015, including a $505 million first mortgage on the Loews Universal Orlando hotel portfolio, collateralized by three AAA four diamond resorts in Orlando; $400 million first mortgage on Columbia Center in Seattle;
Lead lender and $333 million participation in a $1 billion mortgage loan on Mall at Short Hills, a super-regional mall in Short Hills, NJ; $276 million first mortgage on Oak Park Mall, a leading upscale regional mall in Overland Park, KS; $261 million investment in a $691 million term loan facility secured by a pool of loans in the United Kingdom; $255 million first leasehold mortgage on 1675 Broadway here; $228 million first mortgage on 123/151 Buckingham Palace Rd, two office properties located in London's West End.
A $215 million participation in a $430 million first mortgage on Park Place, an office and retail campus in Irvine, CA; $210 million first mortgage on Towers at Williams Square, in Irving, Texas; $175 million first mortgage on Eastown Apartments in Hollywood, CA.
"MetLife and its partners had a strong year adding high-quality assets to our real estate portfolio in a variety of markets," Merck adds. "We believe that the market in 2016 will offer ample opportunities for equity deals for institutional investors."
MetLife's five largest equity real estate transactions in 2015 were Park Tower, a 737,000-square-foot office development in San Francisco for $340 million; Shinjuku 3-chrome building, a 67,000 square foot retail property in Tokyo for $170 million; Park District/2101 Pearl, an 815,500-square-foot mixed-use development in Dallas for $98 million; Osaka Marubeni Building, a 245,000 square foot office property in Osaka, Japan for $88 million and Vu New River, a 209-unit apartment development in Fort Lauderdale, FL for nearly $53 million.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
