Posted by admin on Nov 24, 2014
NAI Global, a commercial real-estate services network linked to Andrew Farkas, has agreed to a deal with EVO Real Estate Group based in New York. This network has 165 firms connected across 204 cities worldwide. Through this deal, EVO will become the New York office of the network.
C-III Capital Partners, under the direction of CEO Andrew Farkas, purchased NAI in 2012. NAI provides brokerage among other services to external clients as well as all of Farkas’ ever expanding collection of real-estate businesses. There has been one noticeable hole in the network in New York, which many consider to be the most important real-estate market in the world.
EVO will be instrumental in bridging this gap as they are native to the city and currently manage around 3.5 million square feet of commercial property. The president of NAI Global, Jay Olshonsky, remarked that they were thrilled to now have a strong presence in New York.
Mr. Farkas is well known for his acquisition of Edward S. Gordon Co. in 1996, which he sold in 2003 to CB Richard Ellis for $415 million. This is just one of many real-estate and brokerage empires that Farkas has built over the years.
Current trends in the brokerage industry have shown larger firms moving away from the network structure preferred by NAI, but instead are moving towards ownership of all of their individual member offices. When C-III initially acquired the NAI network, they owned the New York member office, but in a strategic move they decided to replace the newly acquired office within the network, along with a few other offices owned by NAI, with wholly owned companies independent of the network. The network is estimated to reach a combined revenue total of $1 billion in 2014.
Winoker Realty Co. was a well-known New York based real-estate firm who made headlines in 2012 when their president, David Winoker, died tragically in a sky-diving accident. In 2013 the firm was sold to two former employees, father and daughter duo Ira Fishman and Dana Moskowitz, by the deceased’s widow. The firm quickly rebranded as EVO Real Estate Group, with the name being chosen to reflect the desired evolution the firm would undertake.
This new deal between EVO and NAI Global will enable EVO to expand and develop due to the shared information between member firms, according to Mr. Fishman. An example of this might be if EVO had a client in New York, who was also looking to lease out another building in a different state, EVO could link up with the network member office in that state and the fees and commissions would be divided up between the two member firms. Mr. Fishman is said to be excited about the concept as he has never been part of a network like this before.
Mr. Farkas’ vast collection of businesses uses the NAI Global network for brokerage services among others. The president of NAI Global insists this is because the network is continually proving that they offer the best service, not because of the ties with Mr. Farkas. The reason they feel they stand out is because each of the individual firms in the network are experts in their respective regions. This means that firms in the network can refer clients to other member firms with the confidence that they will provide the same standard of care and expertise as each other. According to Mr. Olshonsky, firms within a network that are independently owned have more of an incentive to make sure that their clients, local or referred, are getting the best service.
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Posted by admin on Oct 6, 2011
Fitch Ratings affirms C-III Asset Management LLC commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) primary servicer rating at ‘CPS2-‘ and its special servicer rating at ‘CSS1-‘.
On Aug. 30, 2011, C-III Capital Partners LLC (C-III) announced that it had acquired the special servicing and CDO management businesses of JER Partners (JER), a private real estate investment management company. JER was the named special servicer for $35.5 billion of commercial real estate loans, of which approximately $4 billion is currently in special servicing and under active management.
C-III will merge JER’s special servicing operations into its wholly owned subsidiary, C-III Asset Management LLC, which is a special servicer of commercial real estate loans. With the acquisition, C-III is now the named special servicer for approximately 14,000 loans with an aggregate balance in excess of $152 billion, of which approximately $17 billion is currently in special servicing.
Fitch has affirmed the following ratings:
CIII –Special servicer rating at ‘CSS1-‘; –Primary servicer rating at ‘CPS2-‘.
Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.
Andrew Farkas is the CEO of C-III Capital Partners.
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Posted by admin on Aug 31, 2011
C-III Capital Partners LLC (C-III) announced today that it has acquired the commercial real estate special servicing and CDO management businesses of JER Partners (JER), a private real estate investment management company. JER is the named special servicer for $35.5 billion of commercial real estate loans, of which approximately $4 billion is currently in special servicing and under active management.
C-III will merge JER’s special servicing operations into its wholly-owned subsidiary, C-III Asset Management LLC, which is a highly rated primary and special servicer of commercial real estate loans. With the acquisition, C-III is now the named special servicer for approximately 14,000 loans with an aggregate balance in excess of $152 billion, of which approximately $17 billion is currently in special servicing.
“This acquisition strengthens C-III’s position as one of the top three special servicers in the country and advances our growth strategy,” said Andrew Farkas, Chairman and CEO of C-III Capital Partners. “Special servicing is a key foundation of our strategy to create a fully diversified commercial real estate company.”
“JER’s servicing portfolio, depth of experience and industry expertise will be a great fit with C-III,” stated Paul Smyth, President of C-III Asset Management. “We look forward to integrating their exceptional team of professionals into our expanding, highly experienced C-III team.”
The acquisition of JER’s special servicing and CDO management businesses follows 16 months of tremendous growth for C-III. C-III commenced operations with the purchase of Centerline Capital Group’s commercial loan servicing and institutional real estate debt fund management businesses in March 2010. Since that time, C-III has successfully launched mortgage origination, investment sales and title insurance businesses and expanded its principal investment, loan origination, fund management and primary and special loan servicing businesses. On June 22, 2011, C-III announced its agreement to acquire NAI Global, the largest network of independent commercial real estate services firms worldwide.
Financial terms of the transaction with JER were not disclosed.
About C-III Capital Partners
C-III Capital Partners LLC is a leading commercial real estate services company engaged in a broad range of activities, including primary and special loan servicing, loan origination, fund management and principal investment. The company’s principal place of business is located in Irving, TX, and it has additional offices in New York, NY, Greenville, SC and Nashville, TN.
C-III Asset Management LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of C-III Capital Partners, is a highly rated servicer (primary and special) of commercial real estate loans. Its clients include issuers of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), institutional lenders and other investors. C-III Asset Management is rated “CPS 2-” by Fitch and “Above Average” by Standard & Poor’s as a primary servicer, and is one of the highest rated special servicers in the industry with ratings of “CSS 1-” by Fitch and “Strong” by Standard & Poor’s. For more information, visit www.c3cp.com.
About JER Partners
JER Partners is a fully integrated private real estate investment management company with 30 years of experience in sourcing, underwriting and managing a broad spectrum of real estate equity investments and debt products in the U.S. and Europe. Together with its financial and operating partners, JER Partners has purchased and managed approximately 15,000 assets totaling $28 billion. The firm also invests in CMBS, mezzanine financing and other structured debt products. For more information, visit www.jer.com.
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Posted by admin on Aug 11, 2011
Andrew Farkas founded Island Capital Group (ICG) in May 2003 and currently serves as its Managing Member, Chairman and CEO. Island Capital Group is a leading international real estate merchant bank engaged in a broad range of real estate related activities. Through its headquarters in New York City, ICG pursues a broad range of real estate-related investments. Its management team is comprised of individuals with financial expertise and true operating experience in order to view investments more critically and understand complex opportunities.
ICG has a unique strategy for identifying opportunities with a “top down” and “bottom up” method by taking a proactive approach to sourcing investments that is consistent with its investment thesis and leveraging its extensive network of brokerage, banking and institutional relationships.
Island Capital Group has six portfolio companies listed on its website: C-III Capital Partners, Centerline Holding Company, Island Global Yachting, Applied Technology & Management, ENSeC and ICG Realty. ICG provides several services, which are listed under “Businesses” on its site: (1) advisory, consulting and asset management services, (2) commercial real estate loan servicing, (3) fund management, (4) principal investment and co-investment, and (5) development.
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Posted by admin on Jun 27, 2011
Investor Andrew Farkas, who helped grow the dominant New York-based Edward S. Gordon Company into a global firm that was later acquired by CB Richard Ellis, plans to purchase the commercial services firm NAI Global, according to a statement from the company.
Andrew Farkas’ C-III Capital Partners, based in Irving, Tex., entered into an agreement today to buy the company. Terms of the sale were not released. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
See the full article on The Real Deal.
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