Winner: Colony Capital founder Thomas Barrack

Why: The private international REIT inked a deal to merge with NorthStar Asset Management and NorthStar Realty Finance at the beginning of June, forming a new REIT called Colony NorthStar that has $58B in assets under management.

The purpose of the three-way merger was to give the companies more of a competitive edge in the marketplace, Thomas said during the announcement.

The new REIT would rank fifth among global independent real estate managers, behind Brookfield’s $144B in real estate and Blackstone’s $101B.

Honorable Mentions:

• Crescent Real Estate Equities co-founder John Goff established a $4B investment fund in June for real estate assets. The GP Invitation Fund has already committed to six new projects totaling $400M.

• KKR co-founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts closed their first Europe-focused real estate fund, called KKR Real Estate Partners Europe, in June, raising $739M. Investments came in from public pension plans, private banking platforms and individuals with a high net worth. The PERE giant has completed $1.3B in European deals since 2013.

This is a monthly series of articles recognizing the big players in commercial real estate. Please send your nominations for a local Player of the Month to us here.