NORTH AMERICA – Almanac Realty Investors has concluded a capital raise on Almanac Realty Securities VI with total commitments of $819m (€644.6m), exceeding the original target of $800m.
Matthew Kaplan, a partner with Almanac, said he was pleased with the closing, as the company continued to find "attractive investment opportunities for this fresh capital".
The fund attracted a wide range of investors, including a $44m commitment from San Francisco City and County Employees' Retirement System, $50m from New Mexico State Investment Counsel, $25m from the Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System and $50m from the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.
Investors are projected to achieve a net IRR of 12%.
Almanac is not planning to have any leverage placed on the fund.
Investors in Almanac VI have authorised an additional $150m above the capital raise for potential side-car investments.
The overall investment strategy for the fund is to make private placements into public and private real estate companies in the US to capitalise on the continued shift of real estate ownership to "integrated entities".
Almanac has already invested $400m of the capital.
Its most recent deal was an investment of as much as $100m into the RAIT Financial Trust.
The publicly traded real estate company will use the capital from Almanac for its expanding loan origination and investment activities, including CMBS and bridge lending.
The other two investments were both with private real estate firms.
Drawbridge Realty Trust invests in office and R&D properties in Northern and Southern California and in Austin, Texas.
NRES Holdings looks to buy Class A and B quality apartments in the Midwest and Southern states.
Both of these firms were allocated $150m.
