Metropolis Capital, AMA Financial Merge, To Open Offices In New Markets
Capital markets firms Metropolis Capital Advisors and AMA Financial announced a merger Wednesday, with ambitions to double their combined transaction volume over the next three years to more than $2B annually, Bisnow can first report.
The new commercial mortgage brokerage firm, to be known as Metropolis-AMA Advisors, will be headquartered in both Metropolis' home base of Bethesda, Maryland, and AMA's home of Philadelphia.
The merged company also has regional offices in Dallas and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and plans to open new offices in Los Angeles and New York City.
“Following years of working together to assist the needs of clients and recognizing our respective companies’ strengths, we decided to form one powerhouse group that leverages the talents, resources and experiences of the combined group, which would provide the fuel for accelerated growth,” co-CEO Clifford Mendelson said in a press release.
In addition to new offices, the company plans to hire seven to 10 new loan originators to assist anticipated growth.
Metropolis-AMA Advisors will specialize in providing a broad scope of finance and equity options across real estate asset classes, the company said, adding it would work with clients nationally, lending on assets that include office, retail, industrial, hospitality and multifamily.
The new firm plans to leverage financing instruments such as permanent fixed-rate financing, preferred equity, mezzanine, construction and bridge loans, and forward financing.
Mendelson said it was apparent that members of both former individual companies specialized in different areas and could lend expertise that brought value to a combined entity. That includes the former Metropolis Capital Advisors’ vertically integrated processes and existing infrastructure, which the company said would help with the expansion of the AMA's financial team.
Co-CEO Gregg Wallace and Mendelson met as undergraduates at Syracuse University and maintained a relationship for nearly four decades before deciding to merge.
The company said the merger will position the new company to help owners and investors navigate a more complex capital markets environment that includes higher interest rates than just a few years ago.
“Headwinds will continue for commercial real estate owners and investors and, despite going through a transition, there are tremendous opportunities available to those which have successfully managed their balance sheets,” Wallace said.
“The real estate loans due to mature in coming months were executed with historically low interest rates, and owners will need to creatively manage its capital stack during the refinancing process.”ncing process
