Sagard Holdings and Great-West Lifeco Form Strategic Partnership

Sagard Holdings and Great-West Lifeco have formed a strategic partnership that will help support Sagard’s growth in the real estate sector. The firm plans to become a global multi-strategy alternative asset manager and a significant real estate player.

The transaction includes Sagard’s acquisition of EverWest, a real estate investment management firm with approximately $3.8 billion in assets under management, from Lifeco. The firm will serve as a foundation to Sagard’s expansion in the real estate sector. In addition, Lifeco will invest $2 billion in EverWest investment vehicles to support future growth and $500 million in Sagard funds. Lifeco will take a minority stake in Sagard subsidy Sagard Holdings Management.

According to a statement from both companies, the partnership is mutually beneficial. Sagard will gain entry into the real estate space and providing access to capital, while Lifeco will gain a significant interest in Sagard’s growth and expansion. “This transaction will advance Lifeco’s strategy to further broaden its access to alternative investment options,” said Paul Mahon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lifeco in a statement. “It will provide better access to Sagard’s diversified asset classes, complementing our existing investment teams. This will result in broader, more diversified options for clients and our general account.”

Following the pandemic, many investors are adjusting investment strategy to respond to market changes and diversifying into new areas. Rising Realty Partners, typically known for its forward-thinking office investments, entered the industrial real estate market, and it hired Scott Word as a principal to lead the platform. In the role, he will oversee industrial acquisition activities. And, Los Angeles-based Decron Properties entered the Phoenix market earlier this year, spending more than $250 million on the combined 772 units. Phoenix has been an attractive growth market for years, and the pandemic has only made it more appealing, according to the company’s CFO David Nagel.

In addition, Atlas Real Estate and DivcoWest formed a $1 billion joint venture to acquire, renovate and manage single-family rental homes throughout the American West, signaling the latest entry into the skyrocketing SFR market and marking DivcoWest’s official entrance into the sector. As part of the deal, San Francisco-based DivcoWest will invest $250 million of equity. The joint venture expects to deploy a total of $1 billion acquiring and renovating homes in high-growth states like Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and Utah, where Atlas currently manages more than 4,200 units.