Global real estate investment manager AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets (AXA IMRA) has inked a deal with Quadrant Real Estate Advisors under which it will assume the management of $9.4 bn (€8.1 bn) in US commercial mortgage loans and take over a 24-strong real estate debt team.
The transaction will bring AXA IMRA's loan portfolio to $20.5 bn and its total debt platform including infrastructure finance to $28 bn. Quadrant's 24 employees, including five of the founding partners, will join AXA IMRA.
Quadrant will continue to manage various commercial real estate debt strategies in the US, UK, and Ireland.
'The acquisition of this market-leading US team, together with the significant commercial real estate senior loan mandates, will enable us to expand the leadership of our real estate debt platform from a European to a global level,' said Isabelle Scemama, CEO of AXA IMRA.
'It will also be a major milestone in our goal of creating one of the largest and truly global real assets investment and management firms,' she added.
Commenting on the acquisition, Steve McCarthy, head of North America for AXA IMRA, said: 'By adding $9.4 bn of assets under management and bringing 24 high-calibre real estate finance professionals into our team, this transaction will be significant for our growth in the US.'
'Quadrant’s long track record of excellent performance in the US is now being replicated in Europe; Quadrant is the dominant non-bank commercial property lender in the Republic of Ireland and has achieved excellent results in Great Britain,' said Quadrant CEO Kurt Wright.
