NORTH AMERICA - New Mexico Educational Retirement Board has approved a $30m (€24m) commitment into the Ram Real Estate Fund III, a commingled fund managed by Ram Realty Services.
The fund will target investment in value-add retail and apartments in the Southeastern region of the US.
It will invest in existing properties through the purchase of underperforming or non-performing loans where the underlying collateral is the property targeted for acquisition.
Mark Canavan, an investment officer of real assets at New Mexico, wrote in a pension fund document that this investment strategy would enable RAM to acquire properties at significant discounts to replacement cost.
The fund will also consider other kinds of deals, such as the direct purchase of ownership interests in assets using combinations of debt and equity.
It will also consider buying properties through a preferred equity investment or other forms of recapitalisation of stressed financial packages.
