Real Insight. Real Estate.

Posts Tagged ‘Goldman Sachs’

The PERE 30 (from Private Equity Real Estate Magazine) revealed that the top 30 real estate private equity firms raised $211.9 billion over the past five years, up from $190 billion as calculated by last year’s ranking. Listed are the top 10 largest real estate private equity firms.

As a note: the top two largest firms raised $25.6 billion and $20.15 billion respectively in dedicated real estate funds between January 2004 and April, 2009. Together the pair raised a fifth of all the direct-investment capital secured by the world’s 30 largest real estate private equity firms.

10. Westbrook Capital Partners
Westbrook has raised and invested $10 billion of equity in over $35 billion of real estate transactions in major markets throughout the world. Westbrook’s investment equity is committed by a broad base of institutional investors, which includes public and private pension funds, endowments, foundations, and financial institutions.

9. The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group is one of the world’s largest private equity firms, with more than $87.9 billion under management with funds across four investment disciplines (buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance). Carlyle has committed more than $3.6 billion of its own capital to its funds.
Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

This Valentine’s Day, Bill Maher has a message for all of us who are still in an abusive relationship…. with our Bank!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

An analysis of the housing crisis by Karl Case:

For the last few years, we have shed many tears
Living through a recession.
The economy’s broke and it’s not a joke,
When we talk of another depression.
Fifteen million without a job,
Foreclosures and banks that fail,
401K’s became 201K’s,
And everything’s up for sale.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Here’s a look at some bank chiefs’ most famous quotes pertaining to the last 18 months of economic turmoil.

“‘Tell Tim Geithner to get f**ked.’ When you come that close to really going out of business, call it near death, death experience, the end of the line, whatever you want to call it, your only focus is to make sure your company survives.”
– MorganStanley CEO John Mack didn’t censor himself during an Oct. 14, 2009 speech to student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Mack was recounting the tumultuous days in September when he worked on negotiating a deal with a Japanese bank to inject money into Morgan Stanley and save the bank from a Lehman-like fate. In the middle of Mack’s negotiations, Geithner called, demanding to speak with the Morgan Stanley chief immediately. Geithner’s apparently annoying insistence sparked Mack’s profane rebuke. Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The 10 Biggest Bailout Recipients -

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Now he tells us!

If you’re reading this, I can’t imagine you’re exactly blown away by Mr. Ross’s ‘vision’.  We in the commercial real estate world have been living the slow motion train wreck for many, many months.  Ross’s comments are especially interesting, however, when you consider he participated in the purchase of $0.5 Billion of real estate debt on October 6th.  Perhaps it was the $1.39 Billion loan from the FDIC that made him more comfortable with the asset class.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

There has been much talk, and many machinations of the current “Banking Bill” being drafted by Barney Frank in Congress. After many Wall Street banks have emerged from the credit crisis largely unscathed, mostly due to the government aid they received through bailout money, Main Street has been  in an uproar, and Congress plans to do something about it.  Mainly, they are attempting to make the cost of Wall Street banks doing business a lot higher. So what’s in this bill, and is is good for the economy?  There are three main points in this bill that will be the focus of this article. Let’s take a look. Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The week of October 3-9

- The Treasury announced that three more firms will invest in PPIP: BlackRock, Wellington Management & AllianceBernstein

- The chairwoman of the FDIC has said what we’ve all been thinking, “Too big to fail” must end.

- If Blackstone decides to buy Anheuser-Busch InBev’s amusement park business, it would be 2009’s largest private equity deal.

- HSBC sold its U.S. headquarters in New York for $330M.

- A boon for the auto industry AND Manhattan real estate? GM has signed a major extension.
Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

It turns out not every Canadian is a dim-witted Dudley Do-Right riding backwards on his horse.  In fact, the Canadian’s have proved they know what they’re doing when it comes to running large, private banks.  In a time when the largest U.S. banks are suffering from rapid deterioration of market value, Canadian banks are actually improving their market cap without having to engage in dilutive capital raises.  There’s no doubt that RBC, TD, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, and CIBC (the 5 largest Canadian banks) have weathered the economic downturn far better than their U.S. counterparts.  In many instances Canadian markets move in step with U.S. markets, so what could be the reason for the relatively strong health of our banking neighbors to the north?

Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Lawrence Bizjak is a Managing Director and co-head of real estate at Garrison Investment Group, where he oversees a team responsible for the origination, acquisition and execution of real estate investments at all levels of the capital structure. Garrison’s is an active originator and a buyer of performing, sub-performing and non-performing mortgages, B-notes and mezzanine debt. The firm invests nationwide in all property types.

During his 20 year career, Mr. Bizjak has held positions at Gramercy Capital Corp. (NYSE:GKK), Goldman Sachs & Co, and E&Y Kenneth Leventhal. Mr. Bizjak graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Urban Design and is a CFA charterholder.

Garrison Investment Group makes credit and asset-based investments with attractive risk adjusted returns. Their experienced team of 35 professionals enables their investment group to source and execute transactions across corporate, real estate, and financial assets. Garrison  Investment Group invests predominantly in loans, securities and asset purchases, and are actively making investments in the current market environment.

Q: As a company, tell me about the niche you have carved out for yourself and how you feel you are different from the competition. Why do you find this product type more appealing than alternative real estate asset classes?

A: Garrison has three areas of focus – commercial real estate, corporate finance, and financial/consumer assets. We are able to invest in Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!