Even with slumping oil prices and talk of a recession on the horizon, some firms just don't have any quit in them. The 10th Edition of PERENews' Global PERE Awards highlighted monster buyouts, privatizations, and private equity giants across the globe, who don't shy away from making a splash. Here are some of the biggest winners in private equity real estate.
Industry Figure Of The Year: Barry Sternlicht
The head of Starwood Capital Group, Barry snatched up industry figure of the year for his mass of moves, the lowest tier of which saw around $2B change hands. The Connecticut firm's big 2015 deals included snatching up 23,000 apartments for $5.4B from Equity Residential, and a $1.9B privatization of Landmark Apartment Trust.
Firm Of The Year: The Blackstone Group
Blackstone went on a tear last year, from its $23B purchase of GE's real estate to its record-breaking $5.4B Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village JV with Ivanhoé Cambridge. The world's largest alternative asset manager was among the most active, overseeing three massive REIT go-private deals: $8B for BioMed Realty Trust, $6B for Strategic Hotels & Resorts, and $2B retail REIT Excel Trust.
Institutional Investor Of The Year: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
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This Canadian pension fund made deals across the globe in 2015, forming a development partnership with Pavilion Group in Malaysia. The institutional giant also bought in to a logistics partnership with Singapore's Global Logistics Properties for $350M and in a UK partnership with Dutch pension manager APG Asset Management for $1.5B.
Capital Raise Of The Year: Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII
This Blackstone fund beat out all others in a landslide with its $15.8B in capital raised—crushing records to be the largest-ever private closed-ended real estate fund raised. Blackstone more than doubled its closest competitor, the $5.9B Lone Star Real Estate Fund IV.
Deal Of The Year: Blackstone and Wells Fargo's GE Buy
No 2015 deal came close to Blackstone and Wells Fargo's $23B buyout of GE Capital's real estate assets. Not only was the price tag through the roof, but the deal went with lightning-fast speed, taking less than four weeks for the three parties to ink their respective contracts.
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