TIAA-CREF has taken full ownership of TIAA Henderson Real Estate, less than two years after announcing it would launch the fund management joint venture with Henderson Global Investors.
Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund has bought Henderson’s 40% stake in the company for £80m (€112m).
The transaction gives TIAA-CREF full ownership of an $82bn (€75bn) global real estate fund management platform.
TH Real Estate will operate as a stand-alone subsidiary within TIAA-CREF’s Asset Management multi-boutique platform. TH Real Estate will have independent executive leadership and investment teams.
Andrew Formica, chief executive of Henderson, said: ”We will retain a strong commercial relationship with TH Real Estate, as they will continue to sub-advise our highly successful Henderson UK Property OEIC.”
Prior to the creation of TH Real Estate, which was completed in April 2014, TIAA-CREF had yet to expand its third-party real estate fund management business into Europe and Asia, although it had already invested in the regions on behalf of its general account.
TH Real Estate effectively brought together Henderson’s European and Asian real estate fund management business with TIAA-CREF’s existing investment activity and in-house capital.
TIAA-CREF kept its North American real estate business separate from the joint venture, despite this actually encompassing a greater volume of assets under management – at $56.1bn versus £26.2bn, according to figures for the end of 2014.
The move comes soon after TH Real Estate announced it was selling its stake in Warburg-Henderson, a German joint venture set up by Henderson 14 years ago.
Tom Garbutt, head of TIAA-CREF global real estate and chairman of TH Real Estate, said: ”Today’s news underscores our long-term commitment to real estate, an asset class that has served our clients well for many years.”
Click here to read TH Real Estate’s own announcement on this story.
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