NEW YORK CITY—Capping a year-long strategic review process at real estate investment adviser Courtland Partners, StepStone Group Real Estate (SRE) said Tuesday it would acquire Courtland. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in March, were not disclosed. The acquisition will give SRE a management platform of $100 billion in capital allocations from institutional investors. Courtland itself currently advises on about $95 billion of investments across the real estate, infrastructure, energy, timber and agriculture sectors.
The announcement comes days after Aon Group plc closed on its $475-million acquisition of another real estate investment management business, the Townsend Group. Courtland was founded by the late Michael Humphrey, a former consultant to Townsend who launched Courtland in 1995. At the time of his death at the end of 2016, Humphrey reportedly owned 90% of Courtland, while managing principal Steven Novick owned the remaining 10% stake.
Post-acquisition, Novick will become a partner of SRE and continue to oversee Courtland's current client relationships. Courtland team members will join SRE and continue to operate out of Courtland's Cleveland office.
“The integration of Courtland and its highly talented team of professionals with StepStone Real Estate will ensure that we continue to deliver the highest quality customized investment solutions to our clients as we expand our global client base and product and service offerings,” says Jeff Giller, partner and head of SRE since its June 2014 formation. “Courtland's founder, Michael Humphrey, was an icon in our industry, with exceptionally high standards and an impeccable reputation that helped to shape the institutional real estate world into what it is today. We intend to honor Michael's legacy by maintaining the high standards and fiduciary orientation that we believe are shared by StepStone and Courtland.”
After Humphrey's passing, the Courtland team began weighing options for the firm's future. “When evaluating potential strategic alternatives for Courtland, first and foremost in our consideration was how our potential options would benefit our clients,” Novick says. “We concluded that StepStone's sophisticated infrastructure, dedication to due diligence, its fiduciary orientation and global presence would enhance our capabilities and substantially benefit our existing clients.”
This past June, SRE hired Courtland's Jay Morgan as a managing director, based in SRE's New York City office. PERE reported in November that SRE and Courtland were in talks about a possible combination of the two organizations.
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Paul Bubny
Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.
