Blue Owl Capital plans to create a new real estate debt platform through the acquisition of Prima Capital Advisors for $170m (€157m).
Jesse Hom, previously global head of real estate credit at Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, will join Blue Owl to lead the new platform and serve as CIO for real estate, reporting directly to Marc Zahr, co-president of Blue Owl and head of real estate.
Blue Owl said Hom would also work to grow the existing triple-net-lease business and identify strategic opportunities to build out and scale the real estate platform.
Blue Owl, which is already active in credit, ‘GP strategic capital’ and real estate, said the acquisition would be funded through a combination of approximately $157m of equity and approximately $13m in cash.
Prima, founded in 1992 by Gregory White, is a real estate lender focused primarily on investing in commercial mortgage-backed securities and manages approximately $10bn in assets on behalf of institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.
The firm is majority owned by Stone Point Capital.
There is potential for up to $35m of earnout consideration in the form of equity. Upon closing of the acquisition, Prima employees are expected to join Blue Owl.
Zahr said: “I have had the pleasure of knowing Jesse for years and can say he is one of the most well-respected, thoughtful and experienced real estate credit investors in the industry. I am confident that he, along with the outstanding team at Prima who maintain a 30-year track record of success, will further bolster our real estate platform’s value proposition.”
Hom said: “The opportunity to build on the tremendous success of both Blue Owl and Prima to create a dedicated real estate finance strategy is a unique and exciting prospect. I am grateful to GIC for 15 amazing years and looking forward to starting this new chapter in my career.”
Prima CEO Gregory White said: “In evaluating the next stage for how we can best serve our stakeholders, we identified Blue Owl as the clear value-driver given the strength of their management team, their exceptional capabilities and strong culture of collaboration. I along with Prima CIO Nilesh Patel, CFO Julia Tcherkassova, and the rest of the Prima team, are excited to join Blue Owl and continue the strong legacy we created over the past three decades.”
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