Bascom, Oaktree Close $630M Buy

Bascom Group and Oaktree are both based in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES—A joint venture between the Bascom Group and Oaktree Capital has purchased a multifamily and retail portfolio from Camden Property Trust for $630 million. The portfolio has 15 properties, including multifamily, a retail center and 19.6 acres of undeveloped land, all located in Las Vegas submarkets. Bascom and Oaktree plan to refresh and upgrade the properties as part of their value-add business strategy. “Oaktree and Bascom have been very active partners together in the Las Vegas market, and we have bought a number of properties together already,” Scott McClave , senior principal of transactions and finance at Bascom Group, tells GlobeSt.com. “This portfolio is right down the fairway in terms of asset class and asset quality of what we buy, which is 90s product that is well located. This portfolio is almost exclusively on the Westside of the valley, and it is very high quality with clubhouses, leasing offices and well-amenitized pools. It is a great physical plan and a great base product to work with, which we found exciting because it allows us to focus our additional investment dollars in upgrades and improvements.” Many of the details of the transaction are not disclosed. Camden brought the property to market with “limited marketing exposure” and McClave said that they saw very strong competition from buyers. The joint venture purchased the property with debt financing at 65% to 70% leverage. The terms of the financing and the name of the lender are also not disclosed. Bascom and Oaktree have been very active in the Las Vegas market. “Many of the properties are actually in submarkets where we are already active owners or that we have aggressively pursued,” explains McClave, adding that the location played a huge role in their pursuit of the portfolio. “There was a ton of product built in the 90s in Las Vegas, and this product is really at the higher end of what was built at the time.” In addition to the retail center and the land, the portfolio has a total of 4,918 apartment units. The buyers will execute a light value-add strategy on the properties, which are already in great condition. “These are 90s vintage, so they are ready for a little freshening up, but we are starting with phenomenal product that has been well maintained and is in a great location,” adds McClave. “That gets us really excited. The majority of our dollars are going to be spent on value-add upgrades, interior finishes and amenity enhancements.” He could not disclose the capital investment, but said that is substantial and is in line with what they have invested in the past. Camden Property Trust is not able to comment on the transaction until after its earnings call on Friday.