Cerberus becomes European NPL leader, closes €4.5b of global commitments

The Cerberus global NPL fund initially targeted $3.5 bn in commitments and closed approximately $4.1 bn of commitments from existing and new limited partners, the New York-based firm said.

In addition to the global NPL fund, Cerberus raised over $1 bn of commitments in separately managed accounts (SMAs) for its global NPL strategy.

'We greatly appreciate the support from our existing limited partners, as well as our new investors, who recognize our proven track record investing in NPLs across geographies and business cycles,' said Seth Plattus, chairman of the Cerberus capital formation committee.

While the firm has managed single-strategy NPL funds for SMAs and invested in NPL portfolios from its flagship multi-strategy funds, the Global NPL Fund is Cerberus’ first dedicated NPL fund. The firm said it had executed more than 215 NPL transactions across 17 countries globally in the last two decades, with a total transaction size in excess of $65 bn. Since 2013, Cerberus has purchased more European NPL portfolios than anyone else, investing approximately $15 bn in equity.

Cerberus celebrated its most prolific year in European real estate in 2018, with over $13.1 bn of completed transactions, counting both NPL deals and hard assets.

Cerberus said that the global NPL opportunity represented 'a multi-trillion dollar market with attractive investment opportunities that Cerberus believes few managers are equipped to pursue'. In addition to significant opportunities in Europe, Cerberus said it was looking at other parts of the world, including China, India, and Brazil.

PropertyEU exclusively interviewed the Cerberus real estate team in the February issue of the magazine, talking to Lee Millstein, president of Cerberus Global Investors and global head of real estate, Ron Rawald, head of international real estate, and Daniel Dejanovic, head of European real estate.